Best way to use Monzo?

Hey travelers. We find using monzo direct is great. Great conversation, no additional fees etc. But of course not everywhere accepts MasterCard meaning we do need to withdraw cash. At the ATMs (only been in Thailand so far) we find it’s charging us 220 bhats for the ATM, + 3% and the conversation rate is less than a bank. What would people suggest? Going direct to a bank perhaps? I’m sure this has been asked before so apologies. Thanks !

it’s charging us 220 bhats for the ATM

That’s a charge added by the ATM operator themselves, unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it - maybe look for a different ATM that advertises free/cheaper withdrawals?

3%

That’s a charge added by Monzo when you go above 200£ worth of withdrawals in a rolling 30 day period; it can be avoided assuming you won’t need more than 200£ of cash.

the conversation rate is less than a bank

That’s surprising - Monzo gives you the MasterCard exchange rate with no markup or other nonsense - have you fallen for DCC by any chance? You should always decline DCC and ask to be charged in the local currency (DCC is there to prey on people’s fears of legacy bank’s foreign transaction fees by charging their card in the card’s native currency, but even the legacy bank’s foreign transaction fees usually work out cheaper than the awful deal DCC gives you).

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And in other countries (not the UK yet, largely because many GBP transactions are processed abroad and people would complain) the FTF is charged even if you pick DCC. The US and HK are two countries I know this happens in.

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How does that work? Does the bank discriminate based on the terminal’s location reported in the ATM transaction instead of the currency?

Not just ATMs, but any purchase - and yes.

So am I correct in saying:

My Mrs’s and I have our own sole accounts. We also are testing the joint account.

We are going Sweden in the next few weeks and will be testing out the cards. Am I correct in saying we can do the following:

I can withdraw £200 ATM sole account
The Mrs’s £200 ATM sole account

Joint account would be £200 between us ??? And not £200 on each actual joint account card ?

Cheers guys :grinning::+1:t2:

This is correct, however:

This is not in addition to your sole accounts. Each person is only able to withdraw £200 per month, regardless of which account they do it through

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I think it’s £200 per person, total. So you can withdraw £200 in any combination from your personal or joint accounts. But the total would be £200 for you and £200 for your partner.

Ignore me - better answer above! :arrow_up_small:

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