Major bank axes free spending abroad and adds new £1.50 fee for holidaymakers

Ruby Flanagan & Abbie Wightwick

4 July 2024 at 9:09 am·3-min read

Metro Bank is set to introduce fees for customers using their debit cards abroad starting next month. The bank informed its customers via email last week that from August 29 a new fee of 2.99% will be applied to debit card transactions within Europe.

Additionally, cash withdrawals at ATMs will incur the same 2.99% charge along with an extra £1.50 per transaction. Metro Bank explained that this fee would apply to each separate transaction made.

Metro Bank currently allows its customers to use their debit cards and withdraw cash in Europe without any charges. However, for transactions outside Europe, the bank already imposes a 2.99% fee and adds a £1.50 charge for ATM withdrawals, reports the Mirror.

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The email Metro Bank sent to its customers on June 27 outlined the upcoming changes: "After August 29 2024, debit card payments made in a foreign currency outside the UK will be charged 2.99% on the converted British Pound value of the transaction. After August 29 2024, cash withdrawals made in a foreign currency using your debit card outside the UK will be charged 2.99% on the converted British Pound value plus a £1.50 ATM fee. This charge is applicable for each transaction you make.

"After August 29 2024, debit card payments made in a foreign currency outside the UK will be charged 2.99% on the converted British Pound value of the transaction. After August 29 2024, cash withdrawals made in a foreign currency using your debit card outside the UK will be charged 2.99% on the converted British Pound value plus a £1.50 ATM fee. This charge is applicable for each transaction you make."

The new fee means that Brits will have to shell out more when using their card abroad. For instance, if you spend the equivalent of £100 on your debit card, from August, you would be charged £102.99 for that transaction.

If you were to withdraw the equivalent cash from an ATM, then with the new fees, you would be charged £104.49 according to Metro Bank's terms and conditions. For a smaller purchase of £20, a Metro Bank customer would be charged an additional 60p in fees.

If you made three separate £20 transactions, you would be charged an extra £3 in fees. Metro Bank told the Mirror that the charges have been introduced due to falling demand. A spokesperson for Metro Bank stated: "Over time we've seen our customer's needs and expectations evolve and the demand for this service has been declining over a number of years."

Established in 2010 as a "challenger" bank to larger, more traditional lenders, Metro Bank was launched following the financial crisis and was the first High Street bank to open in the UK in over 100 years. Currently, nearly three million customers are banking with Metro Bank.

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