Abbey/Santander ZERO v Nationwide Visa Debit for Foreign cash

chattychappy

As we know, Nationwide Visa Debit applies a 1% fee on foreign transactions outside the EU. Zero does not, and there is no fee for ATM withdrawals (but you do get charged interest from the date of the transaction - about 2% a month).

So for the past month I've been in Asia (various countries). Each time I've made a withdrawal, I've made the exactly the same withdrawal twice from the same machine - once with each card.

I've then checked both accounts online the following day. Nationwide has always been exactly 1% more expensive (to within rounding errors).

So for me, I will use Abbey Zero for foreign ATMs from now on. Provided I pay off the money within 2 weeks, I'm saving money. That's not a great hassle because I'm in the habit of checking my accounts online regularly anyway.

Clearly you have to be a bit careful if you mix purchases with ATM withdrawals because the payments you make will likely be applied to the purchases first. If you must do this, I would suggest clearing the whole balance (as showing online) just after making an ATM withdrawal. Another downside is that obtaining cash on a credit card can look bad from a CRA point of view. I'm not worried about this - but did notice from my Experian report that Abbey seem not to be reporting this information at the moment.

Hope this helps - it's a topic that comes up from time to time. Right now Abbey (Santander) Zero seems like the simplest way of getting (nearly) free cash withdrawals outside of the EU.

chattychappy

Bad etiquette to bump one's own thread, I know. But I have just made my first significant USD purchase on the Zero card (since switching from Nationwide credit card/debit card).

Date of transaction: 31st Dec 2009
Amount US$ 1586.00
Date on statement: 31st Dec 2009
Total amount charged GB£ 993.58

Exchange rate received: 1.5962
Interbank rate (per OANDA.com): 1.5926

So in fact I got a slightly better rate - though this is probably a timing issue. I have always got just below or just above this rate.

Anyway despite some earlier threads suggesting otherwise, I'm definitely finding that ZERO really is "zero" when it comes to foreign transaction loadings including ATM withdrawals. Just you must remember that for ATM withdrawals interest applies from the day of the withdrawal and that there may be a local fee.

(Cue the wise crack: Yep I sent off my application and got ZERO back!)

liamcov

Well I am ticked off with Nationwide, I originally applied because I'm living in Spain most of the time during this year but they sent me the "cash card" that doesn't seem to work in ATMs or shops! They then tell me I have to wait 6 months before they will give me the Visa Debit card to assess if I am a good customer!!:mad:

eagleeye

Hi
This is the recent comparison of foreign exchange between Nationwide (cash card) and santander zero.


20/11/09
Nationwide-10,000 INR (129.40 GBP)-1GBP-77.28INR
Santander 6419 INR (83.81 GBP) – 1GBP-76.58 INR
Xe.com
1GBP -77.09 INR

21/11/09
Santander Zero3185 INR (41.56 GBP) 1GBP-76.63 INR
Xe.com
1 GBP- 76.84 INR

25/11/09
Santander
3975 INR ( 51.89 GBP) 1GBP-76.60 INR
Xe.com
1GBP-76.72 INR

30/11/09
Nationwide 10,000 INR (131.53 GBP)
1GBP- 76.02 INR
Xe.com
1GBP-76.42 INR

08/12/2009
Nationwide
10,000 INR (131.22 GBP)
1GBP-76.20 INR
Xe.com
1GBP-76.30 INR

sillystudent_2

Out of interest, what countries have you been travelling through in Asia? I only ask because a couple of years ago I spent a while out in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Bali and Singapore) and I found there was very poor setup in terms of retailers being able to process card transactions (with the exception of high-tech Singapore!) so was forced to get inferior rates by drawing cash out of the wall with a debit card. Is that what you've had to do sometimes or can you withdraw cash without charge/extortionate interest rates on the Abbey Zero card as well? Or do you pay by card at most places for most things?

chattychappy

sillystudent wrote: »

Out of interest, what countries have you been travelling through in Asia? I only ask because a couple of years ago I spent a while out in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Bali and Singapore) and I found there was very poor setup in terms of retailers being able to process card transactions (with the exception of high-tech Singapore!) so was forced to get inferior rates by drawing cash out of the wall with a debit card. Is that what you've had to do sometimes or can you withdraw cash without charge/extortionate interest rates on the Abbey Zero card as well? Or do you pay by card at most places for most things?

Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan mainly. Also I travel in the US and Europe.

Sure, the "poorer" the country, the less likely normal retail places are likely to take credit cards. Sometimes when they do they want a percentage extra because they don't see why they should have to pay the bank fee involved.

Abbey Zero is now my preferred method. I've never noticed a difference in the underlying rate between cards (be they debit or credit).

All that differs is the charges/loadings on top which can be some or all of:
1) forex loading (0% to 2.99% typically)
2) cash advance fee (2% to 3% typically)
3) interest
4) fee (some banks charge for ATM withdrawals outside the UK)

Getting cash out of an ATM on Abbey Zero you will only pay (3) (could be pence if you immediately pay it off, ie don't wait for the statement).

Getting cash out of an ATM on a typical credit card would cost you 1+2+3.

In some countries it's standard to charge a fee for using the machine. This is added to the amount withdrawn when it is billed (a bit like ATMs in pubs in the UK).

I have local accounts in some of the places I visit, but with Abbey (and Nationwide as a backup) I can always get cash reasonably cheaply out of a machine. But if you pitch up with a "standard" credit card in a cash society and use an ATM, you will be fleeced. But even with all the charges on top, a beer in Thailand will still work out cheaper than a beer in London!

glenderg

chattychappy wrote: »

Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan mainly. Also I travel in the US and Europe.
But even with all the charges on top, a beer in Thailand will still work out cheaper than a beer in London!

Here here, So that makes you a HAPPYCHATTYCHAPPY then! :beer:

dechass

Hi, I've been reading through the forum but am still confused with what cards i should use on Holiday to make sure I dont lose out.

Cards I have are;
nationwide flex account card
post office card
FairFX card and
santander zero

We are visiting USA for 3 weeks,
purchases - i should use either post office or santander and pay off in full when i return, Is that correct?

withdrawing cash from atms is where i am unsure..

- flex account is 1% and santander has 27% interest, or should i be considering the FairFX card?

what would be the best card to use and how?

regards

chattychappy

Ignoring the FairFX card which I don't know about, the cheapest would be:

Post Office for purchases - pay when you get the statement
ZERO for cash - but pay immediately (ie within a few days) on making the withdrawal. Don't wait for the statement. You will need access to internet to do this.

NEXT BEST (probably simpler)

Post Office or ZERO for purchases - pay when you get the statement
Nationwide Flex Debit for cash - pay when you get the statement - you will pay 1%

This assumes you don't have any "deals" running on these cards (BT deals, introductory offers etc).

dechass

ok thanks chatty chappy,

i might pre-load the zero card before i go, then i wouldnt have to worry about paying that off quickly. Is that possible?

Will it matter if I lift a lot of small atm withdrawals as oppossed to less larger withdrawals? (dont like carrying cash on me I dont need, only to lose it or get it stolen!). There will be a happy medium i expect, but you get the point....

thank you very much.

chattychappy

No, don't pre-load the ZERO. It's against the T+Cs so they might bounce it, hold it in a suspense account etc.

If you are on 27% APR with ZERO, that's very roughly 2% a month. So, even if you withdrew $200 on day 1 and couldn't pay until you got back 3 weeks later, you'd still be charged less than £3 interest, so it's not a big deal (though for the first week of your trip it would work out cheaper to use the Nationwide Flex account as that would be a fixed 1%).

No fee on ZERO, so no probably making multiple small withdrawals, unless the ATM concerned levies its own fee.