Debit and Credit Card Charges on Non-Euro Purchases


When you use an Irish debit card or credit card for purchases in non Euro currencies – (including online) … you will nearly always be charged currency conversion fees by your bank. These charges will be on top of any “normal” bank transaction charges.
Most Irish banks will also make extra charges for non-Euro cash withdrawals at ATMs.


How much do Irish banks charge on spending in foreign currency?

We did a comparison of bank charges in Ireland when spending with a Debit Card , a Credit Card or using cash from an ATM .

We used a non-euro purchase worth the equivalent of €100 as an example. 

Debit Card Non Euro Charges

  • N26 no charge
  • Revolut 1% if you spend over €1000 in a month. **
  • EBS charges 1%  (minimum €0.30,maximum €6.00).
  • PTSB charge 1.75% (Minimum €0.46, maximum €11.43
  • AIB charge 1.75% (minimum €0.45, maximum €11.00)
  • Bunq charge 2% on their “Easy Bank” card
  • Bank of Ireland charges 2% (maximum €11.43)
  • Credit Unions charge 2% (Max €12)
  • An Post charge 3% (no cap)


** Revolut Standard account – no fees when you spend under €1000 a month in foreign currencies. After that there is a 1% fee. (€1 per €100). Note – at weekends there is a 1% fee


Credit Card Non Euro Charges

  • AIB Visa 1.75% in Europe; 2.75% Rest of World
  • AIB Mastercard 1.75%
  • PTSB Visa 1.75%
  • BOI  2.25%
  • An Post / Avant / Chill  2.65%

Using an ATM

Withdrawing cash at an ATM will cost you more than using a debit or credit card to purchase outside the Eurozone.
See  more details of ATM charges Here


Irish Bank Card Charges on spending in a non-Euro currency (equivalent to €100).


The cheapest options are highlighted in bold.

Bank Debit CardCredit CardATM
N26€0.00n/a€1.75
Revolut€0.00n/a€0.00 - (Over €200 in a month is charged at 2% Min €1)
EBS€1.00n/a€1.91
PTSB€1.75€1.75€3.50
AIB€1.75€2.75€4.50
Credit Union€2n/a€3.50
BOI€2€2.25€3.50
An Post€3€2.65€3.90
Avantcardn/an/a€3.90
Irish Bank Card Charges on Non Euro Spending

Summary of Debit and Credit Card Charges

  • 1. Using debit cards for non-euro purchases works out cheaper than using cash from an ATM – especially for customers of N26 and Revolut .
  • 2. Using a debit card will usually work out cheaper than a credit card – especially on larger purchases.

Alternatives to the Main Banks

N26

N26 is an “online-only” bank based in Germany. It is covered by the EU bank guarantee and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. You will need a smartphone to operate the account but it can also be used on a computer/laptop.
You won’t be able to pay in cash or cheques – so it might not suit everyone – but it might be a useful “second” account to take advantage of the low fees when making purchases in other currencies.


Revolut

Revolut is a very popular “online-only” option available in Ireland. It is now a fully licenced bank account and it comes with a debit card that has low fees when spending in non-Euro currencies. The first €1000 per month is free on the Standard account, after that there is a 1% fee.


Comparison of Revolut Vs N26


Wise (Formerly Transferwise)

The Wise multi-currency account comes with a debit card and a smartphone app . You can add and convert money, get instant notifications, and freeze or unfreeze your card anytime. It works with Google Pay and Apple Pay. There are small fees for transfers and spending (about 0.3% to 0.4%) . But the card exchange rate at Wise is usually slightly better than normal Visa/ Mastercard rates.
Wise is authorised in the EU by the National Bank of Belgium.


More about other Prepaid Debit Cards in Ireland.


Remember – there are 9 countries in the EU that don’t use the Euro as currency – they are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK.


Card Fees on Large Purchases

There is no cap on Irish credit card charges for purchases made outside the Eurozone – but debit card charges are capped at all banks in Ireland except An Post and Revolut.

  • Debit card caps on charges :
    • Credit Union cap is €12
    • BOI and PTSB cap is €11.43 ,
    • AIB cap is €11

Example :  – for a non-euro purchase costing the equivalent of €2000  this is what you would be charged by the banks:-


BankDebit CardCredit Card
N26ZeroN/A
Revolut (Standard)€10N/A
BOI€11.43€45
AIB€11€35
Credit Union€12n/a
Bunq (Easy Bank)€40n/a
An Post€60n/a

All the figures above also apply to online purchases made in currencies other than Euro.


As you can see above –   it will usually work out cheaper to use an Irish debit card instead of a credit card for larger purchases in a currency other than Euros. This applies to online purchases too.
But An Post customers need to be aware of the 3% charge on the debit card with no cap. Bunq appears to have no cap

Compare bank card fees with Paypal and Amazon’s currency converter


Protection when Buying with a Card


In Ireland, Credit cards and Debit cards have exactly the same level of protection. More about card protection in Ireland here.

Many people assume that they are better protected when purchasing with a credit card if goods are faulty or don’t turn up. But under Irish law, this is not the case (unlike the UK) .


More information here about the cheapest way to exchange larger amounts of currency 


Spending Tips :

  • When using your card in a country that doesn’t use the Euro some shops or hotels will give you the option of having your card payment converted to euros at the point of sale. Be aware that in most, if not all, situations the final cost to you will be higher than if you paid in the foreign currency and let your card provider convert it to euro.
    So, when outside the Eurozone if you are asked if you want to pay in Euros – say NO..Thanks.

Exchange rates used by debit and credit cards.

The vast majority of debit and credit cards in use by Irish providers are either Visa or Mastercard. The exchange rates are set daily by Visa and Mastercard . This means that when comparing a Visa card from AIB with a Visa card from Ulster Bank etc. you shouldn’t need to take into account exchange rate differences because they should all use the same rate on a given day.
There may be small differences between the rates used by Mastercard and Visa.
We have seen research from the UK showing that Mastercard has better rates than Visa the majority of the time. (Average of 0.5% better – but sometimes a difference of 3% !)

All Figures checked  Feb 2024


Note – For AIB Visa – the countries that are classed as “Europe”are
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK.