Metro Bank introduces charges for withdrawing money Outside Europe

joedenise

Thanks for the info. I didn't notice this on the website when I went on earlier today.

As I only travel in Europe at the moment I'll be keeping my account but if charges are introduced for Europe that will be the time to think about closing the account for me.

Denise

OllyM

I'll be closing my account then!

buffman

lisyloo wrote: »

You can pay zero interest (I know that for a fact) by transferring on the SAME day.

How does that work? If I have spent, say, £1000, on my Halifax Clarity credit card in shops and then withdrawal £100 abroad from a cash machine, do I then need to credit £100 or £1100 that day not to incur any interest charges?

chattychappy

Amid all the (justified, I suppose) concern about minimising the odd % here or there, I wouldn't be closing Metro if I had one. The outside-Europe charges are still below the average.

You can't just choose the best card, pitch up in Jolly Foreigner Land and expect a trouble free experience. You really need a clutch/basket/portfolio of cards. Cards get blocked, lost, swallowed or simply fail to work because of unexplained network funnies. You can easily waste precious pounds and time on phone calls back to blighty to sort out problems, and even then get nowhere. Worse still if you have to arrange expensive bank transfers, Western Union etc.

Case in point. My Santander Zero card is currently not working in Citibank machines in Saigon. No idea why - used these machines loads of times before without a hitch. My Barclaycard is working fine - and has a higher daily withdrawal limit. Barclaycard is loaded by 2.75%, but effectively treat it as a purchase (so up to 56 days interest free and no other fee). Don't need the credit, but it softens the pill. Meanwhile Zero is working in HSBC machines, but they are levying a local 2% fee. (Citibank have a fixed fee, much smaller.) So suddenly the 2.75% + 56 days interest free of Barclaycard doesn't look so bad against the Zero in HSBC ATMs which is 2% local fee + daily interest.

Until I just tried ANZ machines which I had previously given up on. VND40,000 (about £1.15) local fee and up to VND10M in one go. Bingo, Zero's working.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, for some unknown reason, Chinatrust ATMs have started charging a local fee on my Zero card but not my Barclaycard. OK fine, I now use Zero in Cathay bank. No charge.

So:
1) As I say, have multiple cards available.
2) Bear in mind that local charges can be applied and might vary according to card.

Also, I personally never use debit cards. I have multiple CCs and if one gets compromised, I can use another. My 2 debit cards give access to MY money. I keep them for use with card readers when I use online banking and for use in the institutions concerned in the UK.

zagfles

buffman wrote: »

How does that work? If I have spent, say, £1000, on my Halifax Clarity credit card in shops and then withdrawal £100 abroad from a cash machine, do I then need to credit £100 or £1100 that day not to incur any interest charges?

It depends. If the £1000 is on a statement then you have to pay the full £1100. If it's not on a statement (ie all spent after the last statement date) then you should only need to pay £100.

But you need to check the £100 has gone through, otherwise the payment may be applied to the purchases.

I don't bother paying withdrawals till I get home off holiday - unless you're going for several weeks the interest is trivial. But I pay them as soon as I get back (don't wait for the statement).

lisyloo

How does that work?

The easy answer is that if you clear the FULL balance and all cash advances are paid on the same day then you will not pay any interest.

It gets a bit more complicated if you have purchases as well. It looks like statemented purchases would be paid before cash which would be cleared before unstatemented purchases.

The other option is to wait until the end of your holiday and pay about £2 or £3 in interest (the equivalent of a coffee) when you get back.
I know this is a moneysaving site but it you spent thousands of pounds on your holiday then is it good value to be running to the internet every day to save a couple of quid?
Also bear in mind that hotel (and certainly cruise ship) internet may cost you more than the interest.

It does depend on what type of holiday you're on, but there is a question over whether it's worth putting yourself to a great deal of trouble to make sure it's absotlutely zero.

Cruise ship internet via satellite is particularly extoriontate in my experience.

OllyM

chattychappy wrote: »

Amid all the (justified, I suppose) concern about minimising the odd % here or there, I wouldn't be closing Metro if I had one. The outside-Europe charges are still below the average.

You can't just choose the best card, pitch up in Jolly Foreigner Land and expect a trouble free experience. You really need a clutch/basket/portfolio of cards. Cards get blocked, lost, swallowed or simply fail to work because of unexplained network funnies. You can easily waste precious pounds and time on phone calls back to blighty to sort out problems, and even then get nowhere. Worse still if you have to arrange expensive bank transfers, Western Union etc.

If it was my only load free card I would keep it but I have Halifax Clarity, Lloyds Avios Rewards and Capital One Aspire World which are all 0% forex plus numerous other cards which aren't.

I mostly travel to the USA where you need very little cash anyway so I'll just withdraw using the Clarity in future if necessary - it'll be cheaper!

Biggles

buffman wrote: »

I understand that N & P have a debit card that allows cash withdrawls abroad without fees. Does anyone have any experience with them?

I have the Gold Current A/c and use it a lot. You must fund it £500 each month (the usual in-out transfer back to your main a/c) or pay £5 a month.

When you travel, you just send a message on the website to tell them where you're going, much like Nationwide.

I've never had a problem with the card.

buffman

I have just opened up a new N & P Gold Classic account over the phone and am waiting for the paper work. Apart from having to transfer in (and then out!) £500 monthly, the account appears to be as least as good as the Metro Bank account that I will be closing. The lady I spoke with was very helpful.

msallen

buffman wrote: »

I have just opened up a new N & P Gold Classic account over the phone and am waiting for the paper work. Apart from having to transfer in (and then out!) £500 monthly, the account appears to be as least as good as the Metro Bank account that I will be closing. The lady I spoke with was very helpful.

Customer service is indeed very good.

I can't comment on the overseas use as I only opened my account a few weeks ago and haven't tried it outside the UK yet.

EDIT: I should note though that 'Faster Payments' into this account aren't as fast as many other accounts, and often don't appear until the next day. You may want to bear that in mind.