Monzo currencies and fees

Monzo Chat
1

Hi All,

Excuse my ignorance as I could not find all the information needed. I have been researching banks, credit cards and prepaid cards in the last few weeks in order to prepare for my travels.

Do I understand correctly that Monzo card is only in GBP? Or does it have multiple but limited number of currencies and there are fees if you pay in a country that does not use one of those currencies (like Travelex card?)

2

It is just in GBP but has a wholesale exchange rate and not the usual prohibitive fees

3

You can use it in anywhere MasterCard Is accepted. Which is practically everywhere. There are 0 fees to use it and you get the wholesale exchange rate which is one that I’ve yet to find anywhere that offers any better

3 Likes
4

I think I had problem getting my head around it due to “too good to be true” moment. Correct me if I’m wrong: so when I prepay the card with, let’s say 500GBP then obviously the rate will be slightly lower in order for Monzo to get some profit while charging no fees even if I pay in, for example, India using this card?

My other assumption is that the card will work with with PayPal, won’t it?

1 Like
5

Hey Dawid! We give you the full Mastercard exchange rate, and we don’t make profit on foreign transactions.

And you certainly can connect the card to PayPal :slight_smile:

3 Likes
6

Sorry to join on the discussion after a while.
But can you clarify these two points:
(Using as example the one mentioned about going to India)
1 If I would withdraw money from India ( which doesn’t charge for withdrawal), let say 490 “Indian Currency Money”. What I would get ?( exchange rate= what MasterCard applies) just the change with other costs for withdraw in India ??

2 if the day after (same month) I will withdraw 20 “Indian Currency Money” will i pay 2% of those 20 ?

Am I correct ?
Regards Emmanuele

1 Like
7

In both senarios you’ll get the current MasterCard exchange rate:

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html

Monzo will not charge you any fees to withdraw cash, however the ATM may have a fixed fee for withdrawal.

1 Like
8

Hi @menehaito!
@BobT is absolutely right, but here is complimentary example in picture:

My transaction in Monzo, 1,000 MAD cost me £78.62, ATM didn’t charge any extra fees:

Mastercard currency converter:

Actual currency rate needs to settle in 1-2 days after transaction. My transaction was late 27th April, so Mastercard’s rate from 28th April kicked in when transaction was settled.

1 Like
9

Thanks for the example! That’s very clear!
Just another question came to my mind.
Shall I put top up the cards with euro and withrow pound in the same way.
For top up I mean topping up from a European (with euros) bank account.

Regards Emmanuele

10

Topping up Monzo card from non-GBP currency will most likely be quite expensive. You can make bank transfer to Monzo or top up with card in EUR, but applied exchange rate will be of your bank, not Monzo. While I don’t know what currency exchange rate and fees your bank applies, but that most likely can’t be a very good rate. Then, as you spend money with Monzo you’ll be exposing yourself to second-time currency exchange. :frowning: Even if you would top up in EUR and spend in GBP, you are still getting that less favourable exchange rate from your bank.

There are other solutions that might be suitable for you. Monzo plans to expand to Europe, but that’s not happening soon. Other cards, like Revolut, have other currencies including EUR, so you can top up in EUR, then spend EUR. Revolut’s exchange rates are on par or tiny bit worse in comparison to Monzo. I would recommend more research if that’s good option for you, but that seems better than exchanging currency twice (EUR -> GBP -> EUR). :smiley:

11

A post was merged into an existing topic: :us: Monzo in the USA [Discussion]