Starling Bank Europe Transactions?

Dotty12

I've been looking for a debit card that would enable me to withdraw money and make transactions in Europe without any fees. I made a topic about Metro Bank before which seemed a good option but they rejected me for a Current Account. My credit report isn't the best.

Anyway last week I applied for Starling Bank and today I got my card delivered.

According to their website Starling Bank seems very similar to Metro in terms of the no-fees in Europe and getting the Mastercard Exchange rate etc. Has anyone got any experience with Starling Bank? What are they like? As Metro rejected me this seems my only option but still interested in your views

I don't plan to make them my main account. Just transfer money into the account via mobile apps as and when I need it for Europe trips

https://www.starlingbank.com/travel/

• You said you don’t charge ATM fees but I was charged! What’s happened?
  
  That’s right, we don’t charge fees at ATMs — but unfortunately some ATM owners overseas do, which is out of our control.

Are ATMS in Europe as obvious as UK ones when they charge you for withdrawals? Or can you get stung like this quite easily?

Ballard

I have a Starling account solely for use overseas and have no problem with them. There is a limit of how much you can withdraw fee-free from ATMs in every 30 day period (around £200 if memory serves correctly) but when combined with debit card use it’s sufficient for my needs.

As to fees from the ATM owner, this is something that you’ll need to research. Googling ‘ATM fees France’ is likely to take you to pages where the subject has been discussed. In my opinion even with fees added it still works out better value than exchanging Sterling. There’s nothing obvious about fees until you use the machine where the fee is displayed before you commit to the transaction.

I also have a Monzo account and I think that both accounts also give instant notifications for debits and credits which is handy.

noh

Starlings limit on foreign ATM cash withdrawal is the same as sterling. £300 a day or equivalent.
It is Monzo that has £200 monthly fee free limit
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/#debit

Ballard

noh wrote: »

Starlings limit on foreign ATM cash withdrawal is the same as sterling. £300 a day or equivalent.
It is Monzo that has £200 monthly fee free limit
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/#debit

Thanks for the correction.

eDicky

I've been using Starling worldwide since they began, no problems at all.

Charges by ATMs in various countries apply to any foreign card, not only Starling. It's prevalent in USA, Spain and Thailand, less so elsewhere. The warning of the fee is given before proceeding.

Many ATMs try to offer you their own exchange rate, which you don't want. Reject it by selecting 'Without Conversion' or similar, so that Starling does the conversion at the ideal MasterCard rate. Similarly, always choose to pay in the local currency if a payment terminal offers the choice to bill you in pounds. In most countries payment by card is generally accepted and more convenient than withdrawing and using cash.

Ballard

With regards to the conversion I took some cash out in Hungary last month at was offered around £57. I declined and was debited about £51 so it’s definitely not worth taking their exchange.

swindiff

I withdrew 300 euros using my Halifax Clarity card in Spain last week. If I had chosen to convert to Sterling there and then they would have charged me £308, by not converting it cost me £258. £50 delta on such a small sum. How many people don't realise and press the wrong button on the ATM.

Dotty12

Thanks guys.

So key thing to remember is always make sure to decline the ATM's "exchange rate"?

What about transactions? Say I'm in a Spanish supermarket and my items come to 20 Euros and I pay via my Starling card, would I get a similar choice of an 'exchange rate' or to pay in GBP? Or would I just get charged whatever 20 Euros is in GBP on the day of transaction according to the mastercard rate?

swindiff

You normally get the choice when making a purchase also. Same advice, use the local currency.

System

I recommend using contactless - where available - as it bypasses DCC without any conversation with retail staff.

Ballard

Dotty12 wrote: »

Thanks guys.

So key thing to remember is always make sure to decline the ATM's "exchange rate"?

What about transactions? Say I'm in a Spanish supermarket and my items come to 20 Euros and I pay via my Starling card, would I get a similar choice of an 'exchange rate' or to pay in GBP? Or would I just get charged whatever 20 Euros is in GBP on the day of transaction according to the mastercard rate?

You can be offered an exchange rate when paying for goods. Same answer - always pay in the foreign currency.