For purchases abroad, the credit card from the Swiss smartphone bank Neon is cheaper than Revolut and TransferWise.
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The big comparison shows: These are the cheapest credit cards for foreign purchases
If you go abroad with a credit card from a smartphone bank, you may pay significantly less fees than with a credit card from a traditional bank. According to the Moneyland comparison portal, the savings potential is over CHF 500. However, you shouldn’t do without a “classic” credit card when traveling.
In an evaluation published on Wednesday, Moneyland compared the fees for purchases and cash withdrawals abroad with debit and credit cards from different providers. The cards were compared with each other in the categories of purchasing and cash withdrawals for frequent and infrequent users.
It shows: With one exception, the cards from smartphone banks are almost always cheaper than those from traditional banks, no matter how often they are used.
Massive differences in purchases
When shopping, I have the credit card of the Swiss smartphone bank neon best cut off, as Moneyland announced. Neon announced a little more than a month ago that it would no longer charge processing fees for foreign currencies. According to the study, the two British providers are only slightly more expensive than neon TransferWise and Revolution,
The providers of the so-called free credit cards – including, for example, the credit cards from Migros and Coop – charge significantly higher fees for purchases abroad than smartphone banks.
However, purchases abroad are the most expensive for users of standard credit cards from traditional banks like that ZKB, the Raiffeisen or the big banks UBS and Credit Suisse, “The cheapest smartphone banks are cheaper for frequent users abroad with more than 500 francs a year than the most expensive traditional banks,” Moneyland CEO Benjamin Ganz comments on the study.
Cash advances similar to purchases
Smartphone banks are also the cheapest when it comes to withdrawing cash abroad. Only the paid private account plus the PostFinance keep up with the fees. Classic banks are again the most expensive, with the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive offering for frequent users in this category only being a little over CHF 150 a year.
Bank Cler’s smartphone subsidiary called Zak according to Moneyland, can basically not keep up with the other smartphone banks and is almost as expensive as the classic banks for purchases and cash withdrawals abroad. Cash withdrawals via Zak are only cheap for the Zak Plus offer.
«Classic» credit card essential
In addition to the mainly low fees, other advantages of smartphone banks are the often high level of user-friendliness and practical functions. However, the two British providers Revolut and Transferwise are not a full substitute for a Swiss bank account, as they cannot be used for wage payments without a Swiss IBAN number.
For a trip abroad, smartphone banks would be an alternative to a credit card, but it is still advisable to carry a classic credit card with you. Depending on the country and business, it may happen that the cards from smartphone banks are not accepted, it continues.
