Wise card compared to 0% overseas transaction fee debit cards

wswgin on 06/06/2023 - 11:21

When spending overseas many other cards such as Citi, ING, Macquaire they all have 0% International Transaction Fee.

Does it mean that there are no convertion/transaction fee at all? Or does this mean that the bank has no fee, but the network such as Mastercard/Visa still charges a fee for the convertion?

I'm trying to compare these debit cards to a Wise card.

Wise charges a forgien convertion fee, last time I exchanged 2000 AUD to JPY, the convertion fee was almost $10.

If these debit card charge no transaction/convertion fee at all, then using a wise card actually have additional fees compared to those debit cards for overseas spending.

The only benefit of Wise is having a slightly better FX rate and locking in the better FX rate by exchanging anytime you want?

Just wanted to check if my understanding is correct.

Thanks

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Comments

  • foxmulder on 06/06/2023 - 11:36
    -1

    I use Ubank Visa Debit in recent overseas trip and they only charge whatever rate Google says that day. No overseas fees. I wont use Wise as I know trre is conversion fee. Wise is good if you need to transfer money to local bank overseas.

    • FirstWizard on 30/06/2023 - 11:08

      Ubank visa card uses the visa currency conversion rate. Not the mid-market rate shown in Google.

      You can check the rate here. Make sure to set the "bank fee" to 0%. You still pay a hidden visa fee, which is way better than the rates in cards with the facility for pre-converting currency, including travel cards.

      The only exception is Wise, as I recently found out that they use the mid-market rate and 0.47% fees, so you'd be better off by ~0.9% by using Wise compared to the Ubank Visa card after paying Wise fees.
      You can do the sums yourself as their currency converter is online, and they are transparent about their fees.

      • foxmulder on 30/06/2023 - 22:08

        Thanks. I just do a purchase today with Ubank of USD 99 in eBay.com - set currency to USD in checkout.

        Ubank shows it will cost $150.16 - exactly the same as Visa Calculator link you gave me, thanks for that.

        Google says it should cost $149.52 for that $99 USD - Thus Ubank costed 0.42% more than should.

        I have Wise account, but I do not use their debit card yet. I see there is 'Add money' features in USD account - I enter in $99 USD then it will prompt to pay USD 150.28.

        Let me know if I'm missing something?

        I learnt today that Ubank doesn't do exactly what Google says. 0.42% is still good I guess. Some card says no fees but it cost 2% more expensive.

        • FirstWizard on 01/07/2023 - 00:14
          +1

          Yes. The 0.42% you see there is the hidden margin visa keeps.

          With Wise, if you don't want to lock in a foreign currency, you're meant to just load AUD. As I understand it, that rate you saw in the wise converter is to get USD right now. But instead you keep it in AUD and make a US transaction, Wise will monitor throughout the day and use the lowest mid-market exchange rate(the rate you call the Google rate) of the day and convert it at that.
          Then they will add their fee which is .47%, and they are transparent about it.

          But ultimately we're talking about tiny savings on one card compared to the other. I don't think it's worth even thinking about it that much.

          But you're right there are some cards that would charge you 2% in hidden fees.

          One more thing to remember. With your payment on the ubank card, the amount would change slightly when it settles, usually that's about 3-4 business days later when the transaction comes out from pending status. They usually use the rate on the settlement day, not the transaction day. While Wise does it the other way around.

  • jv on 06/06/2023 - 11:52

    You need to ask a Wise guy…

  • djsweet on 06/06/2023 - 12:25
    +1

    AFAIK 0% transaction fee cards just use the Mastercard or Visa rate with no fees on top. MC/Visa are probably making money off the spread though. Nothing is going to be truely free.

    • star-ggg on 06/06/2023 - 15:41

      There's also no one market for exchange rates. MC/Visa have built infrastructure or are paying someone to aggregate all of the largest FX exchanges to get one price.

  • randomusername2017 on 06/06/2023 - 12:27

    these debit card charge no transaction/convertion fee

    It's built into the transfer rate.

    Too many limitations on wise as a general use card - especially cash withdrawals. Good for spending in local currency from that account though

  • RQNinja on 21/06/2023 - 02:16

    are wise cards visa debit cards or can you decide on visa or mastercard?

    • Nedkellyinthebush on 29/06/2023 - 21:52

      Visa. For Mastercard go Revolut, but they’re single use only

  • bargin424 on 17/03/2024 - 09:06

    I found that the rates are slightly better with ubank vs wise in singapore. A lot of people saying wise is better which it is true on the surface, but they do add fees ontop of the displayed rate.

    Am I missing something?

    Ubank: 0.8763 for $1 aud
    Wise: 0.8729 for $1 aud

    Keep in mine that it cost $10 to obtain a physical card too which you'll need for ATMs

  • mick1 on 18/03/2024 - 13:45

    Flight Hacks on Youtube did a real life comparison in Japan of FX costs of 10 cards available in Oz. Did a cash withdrawal plus small purchase on each card. Ubank was about 20 cents cheaper on a Yen10k ($114) ATM withdrawal than Wise. Similar results for the 10 cards for the small purchase.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KjgrNJTe1s

    Also - need to remember that money in an Australian bank is Govt guaranteed. Wise is not a bank - no Govt guarantee.

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