I have a UK Monzo account and a euros account with a local SEB bank in Estonia. Moving between UK and Estonia for work.
If I continue to use the GBP Monzo account in Estonia will I be losing money on purchases that I would save if I bought items in euros using the SEB account?
Monzo won’t charge you for any purchases abroad. Whether you’d be better off using your Euros or using GBP will depend on the difference between the exchange rate when you bought the Euros, and the exchange rate in a couple of days time when the transaction settles.
Given the recent changes in rates, I’d say you’re likely to be better off using Euros at the moment.
Thanks for the advice. My salary in Estonia is paid in euros into the SEB account, so perhaps best to use the euros while in Estonia rather than transferring to GBP in Monzo to use in both countries. Shame not to be able to use the Monzo app and facilities while moving between countries but not worth losing money on each purchase I guess.
Ah. I misunderstood. I thought you were paid in GBP, and transferring that to EUR.
Definitely spend in EUR, then, as there will always be losses to overcome with currency spread when converting twice.
Has anyone been to Estonia recently, and know if there are still free ATMs? Seems like lots of EU countries are now charging UK bank cards at ATMs, so wonder if that’s the case in Estonia or not.
I have been to Estonia and Latvia - didn’t use an ATM though as there was no real need, Every where accepted card without question
I went to Tartu though, but also at the Latvia/Estonia border town, it was no issue at Hesburger (chain restaurant)
I took out a small amount of cash at SEB and they didn’t charge. Though does seem that everywhere accepts card
Edit: also used Swedbank with no ATM fee