Are you going on vacation to a country outside the euro zone? Beware of withdrawal and payment fees in foreign currencies with your bank card! However, some banks offer international options to reduce the bill: for a few euros, these operations become free for a month.
Trip to New York, getaway to Iceland, Marrakech weekend… The opportunity to warm up the bank card… and discover when you enter the cost of withdrawals and purchases made with it! Because if, within the euro zone, these operations are free (sometimes with limits for withdrawals), this is not necessarily the case in other foreign countries.
Certain brands, mainly online banks, have developed a bank card offering allowing free withdrawals and payments anywhere in the world. This is the case, for example, of Fortuneo with its Fosfo, Gold Mastercard and World Elite cards, of Hello bank via its Prime offer, of BoursoBank via its Ultim card (although with a limit on withdrawals) and its Ultim Metal card, or even Ma French Bank with its Original and Idal accounts…
But among traditional banks, the most widespread practice for withdrawals is to charge customers a fixed commission (between 2 and 6 euros according to our statement) and/or a percentage of the amount withdrawn (between 1.75% and 3% according to our data). Thus, a withdrawal of 100 euros in foreign currency will be charged on average 5.86 euros (panel of 112 traditional banks analyzed).
For purchases, the same: banks can charge a fixed amount and/or a percentage of the payment amount (sometimes with a cap on this commission). A purchase of 100 euros thus causes an average of 2.87 euros in fees in the 112 traditional banks whose rates we monitor.
Note, however, that some establishments exempt their customers from these fees if they have a high-end card Visa Premier or Gold Mastercard type (at Crdit Mutuel Ocan for example, where otherwise the smallest withdrawal in foreign currency costs 6 euros).
The international option: pay a few euros to save later
However, a solution exists in certain establishments to reduce the cost of these commissions abroad: take out an international option for one month (or even two or three months if the trip is prolonged). Paying, this option sometimes proves profitable when operations multiply and the commissions accumulate.
As part of our ranking of the least expensive banks, we have notably drawn up the typical profile of a Premium customer, brought to carry out outside the euro zone 3 withdrawals of 250 euros and 10 payments of 100 euros, over the space of a month. And some banks allow you to lower the rating using an international option. This is particularly the case in Caisses d’Epargne, Crdit Coopratif or BNP Paribas.
For example, Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France, the Premium customer would pay 58.60 euros for their international operations without the option: 28 euros for purchases (commission of 2.80% per payment) and 30.60 euros for withdrawals (commission of 3.20 + 2.80 % of the amount withdrawn). By activating Formula 1 Travel, charges 4 euros for the month and offers free 3 withdrawals and 10 card payments outside the euro zone, the customer therefore only pays 4 euros instead of 58.60 euros. A substantial saving!
Same thing at BNP Paribas, o the Travel option costs 10 euros per month (5 euros for 18-24 year olds) and allows an unlimited number of currency operations. Without this option, the price sheet provides that withdrawals outside the euro zone (and outside the BNP Paribas Global Network) cost 3 euros + 2.90% of the amount withdrawn, and that each purchase incurs fees of 0.90 euros + 2.90% of the amount of the operation. For our Premium customer, this would therefore have represented a whopping 68.75 euros (30.75 euros for withdrawals and 38 for purchases).
SG customers are offered a Traveler Option 26 euros per year, or international options between 2 and 25 euros per month if they already have a Sobrio group offer (sometimes with free international transfers also included).
Be careful, however, if you subscribe to this option cancel it when you no longer need it. Because banks generally provide for a tacit renewal at the end of the month of activation. The Caisse d’Epargne Ile-de-France specifies as follows: This duration of commitment is renewable by tacit agreement for an indefinite period in the absence of termination of the contract.
Here is the list of establishments offering an international option to study if you are considering a stay outside the euro zone: all Caisses d’Epargne, SG, LCL, BNP Paribas, Crdit Coopratif, Banque de Savoie.
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