Forums › Payment cards › Other payment cards › Hidden FX fees for cards that say no foreign transaction fees
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I was browsing Trading212 (an ISA platform) which also offer a credit card and I noticed in their competitors’ comparison table they have compare FX fees for Chase, Wise, Revolut etc.
This is what they say:
Chase: Mastercard rate, Mid-market + 0.75%
Wise: Mid-market
Revolut: Interbank + variable mark-up
Trading212: True interbank, No mark-upLink: https://www.trading212.com/cards
So it looks like that Trading212 is the only platform that offers “true” Interbank rate.
But is this better compared to the mid-market rate. Also this is the first time I read that Chase has a 0.75% markup? I always thought they had no FX fees.
You are misreading the table. There should really be brackets and not a comma after the Chase line.
There are two types of no FX cards. One type uses interbank which is genuinely 0%. One type uses the Visa / MC rate which is inflated BUT the card issuer does not add their own 2.99%.
The CEO of Currensea constantly moans about this, because it is actually cheaper to use the free Currensea debit card with their 0.5% fee over interbank than use, say, a Chase or Halifax Clarity card with ‘no FX fees’ but which uses the inflated Visa / MC rate.
It’s a debit card, not a credit card. You have to open a trading account with them and pay £4.95 for a physical card.
The 0.5% cashback is also limited to a maximum of £20 a month. Would also be interesting to find out if there are restrictions on getting the cashback, as there are with Chase and the Hilton branded Currensea card.
Chase uses the Mastercard rate which can be found here:
https://www.mastercard.com/global/en/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html
On weekdays, the rate for the next 24 hours is published at 15:05 Eastern Time, which is usually 20:05 in the UK, sometimes 19:05. The rate that is published on Friday evenings (UK time) will be used until Monday evening.
At the time the Mastercard rate is published, it’s usually 0.25-0.5% above what the interbank rate has been over the previous day. However, it is fixed for the next 24 or 72 hours regardless of what happens to the interbank rate.
If the interbank rate moves against you (i.e. GBP gets weaker), the Mastercard rate could become 0.5-1% better than the interbank rate at the time you spend. Particularly if GBP suddenly drops on Monday morning when forex markets open, the Mastercard rate set on Friday will still apply.
On the other hand if GBP strengthens on Monday, then if possible to delay a spend, you would likely be better off waiting until Monday night UK time or Tuesday, as Friday’s poorer rate would still apply until then.
I have used this to my advantage recently as I have large non-GBP spends to make and can choose the timing to some extent. I have been able to predict what the next day’s V/MC rate might be, based on how the interbank rate has moved.
I have noticed that Curve says GBIT forex transactions will be recharged at the Mastercard rate which applies at the time you use it. I have not yet tried it out but it seems like it may be a way to improve the rate that you receive, if you had to spend when GBP was low and GBP has subsequently gone back up.
Very enlightening. Thank you everyone
Rob, in that case, Curresea does a terrible job advertising their benefits. I’ve seen multiple articles and I also went to the website and I never understood the benefit of the card. But now this makes a lot of sense. They should create a comparison table on their website like Trading212 has..
It’s a debit card, not a credit card. You have to open a trading account with them and pay £4.95 for a physical card.
The 0.5% cashback is also limited to a maximum of £20 a month. Would also be interesting to find out if there are restrictions on getting the cashback, as there are with Chase and the Hilton branded Currensea card.
A list of exclusions is at https://helpcentre.trading212.com/hc/en-us/articles/17862038991389-Excluded-merchant-categories-for-cashback
You are misreading the table. There should really be brackets and not a comma after the Chase line.
There are two types of no FX cards. One type uses interbank which is genuinely 0%. One type uses the Visa / MC rate which is inflated BUT the card issuer does not add their own 2.99%.
The CEO of Currensea constantly moans about this, because it is actually cheaper to use the free Currensea debit card with their 0.5% fee over interbank than use, say, a Chase or Halifax Clarity card with ‘no FX fees’ but which uses the inflated Visa / MC rate.
Ceo of currensea really needs to advertise this fact. I had just been looking and initially dismissed it because it said 0.5% fee on interbank
A list of exclusions is at https://helpcentre.trading212.com/hc/en-us/articles/17862038991389-Excluded-merchant-categories-for-cashback
Yes, was looking through all the cashback excluded categories last night…and it took a while. So unless you just plan to use it solely for generic retail shopping, this card is completely useless.
It’s a big ‘NO’ from me!
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