Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

A guide to new world of banking and finance – direct banks, international transfers, mobile wallets, crypto exchanges, and other online investing platforms

I often grumble about the high fees associated with international banking when travelling abroad (especially with Australian banks), so I’ve been looking around at banking alternatives.

Changing bank accounts is not something do very often – once every few years on average. Having researched what is now available I’ve got to say I’m excited about the digital banking revolution that is sweeping the financial sector.

No doubt the incumbent banks have relied on the inertia of customers like me to not bother moving accounts. I’ve had an account of one variety or another with the same Australian bank I had at high school, mainly because the alternatives weren’t much better. With new banking alternatives available, I’m ready for change.

Every traveller, digital nomad, expat – anyone who travels – should also be reassessing their current banking set-up.

One of the most promising developments for frequent travellers is the rise of direct banks.

A direct bank (AKA virtual banks, digital banks, mobile banks, or internet-only banks) is a bank without any branch network. Instead, account applications and transactions are done online. Many of these banks only operate on mobile, so a smartphone is required.

These “challenger banks” are disrupting the mainstream financial world, providing a genuine alternative to banking as we know it. They are differentiating themselves by offering no ATM fees abroad, real exchange rates, and lower international fees on transfers and purchases.

And to make things more interesting, some of these direct banks are now offering accounts that hold fiat and cryptocurrency. We are living in a time that is seeing a transformation of how we bank.

This article is focussing on what are the best direct banks, mobile wallets, and other innovative financial products beyond the familiar accounts. I’ve left out traditional banks, even though there are some with great banking products. For example, Schwab is a popular bank among US nomads, and I use a Citibank Australia debit card that has no international transaction fees. I will continue to use this account as I am happy with it while using other accounts presented below.

I’ve made this post as an informative list of alternative banking options. There is no one best bank account for travel as everyone will have different needs and uses.

I’ve also included some online finance and investment platforms that I use, and I will continue to expand and edit this post when I review more direct banking and finance options.

Virtual Banks

When I started compiling this list I was sorting banks into categories: Traditional Banks, Virtual Banks, Digital Wallets, and Crypto Banks. It became apparent that these banks are becoming hybrid banks that offers multiple services. And with the remote worker lifestyle becoming more mainstream, these new banks are not limiting themselves to just the citizens of the banks home country.

After the crypto boom of 2017 some of the virtual/direct banks are now offering fiat and cryptocurrencies in one account. I expect that more online banks will offer this as crypto becomes mainstream.

Some of these new banks are brands of established banks, while some are FinTech startups new to the banking and finance scene. With that in mind a factor to consider is if the bank has a government-backed deposit insurance. For example Nemea Bank was an online bank from Malta that went under administration in 2017, which was covered by a Depositor Compensation Scheme.

I’ve listed global and regional banks first, and then country-specific accounts. None of these are sponsored links, some have affiliate links, and I will indicate which ones I have an account with or have applied to.

Global

China

Philippines

Thailand

United Kingdom

International Transfers

Cryptocurrency Exchanges

I’ve included cryptocurrency in this roundup as it is a useful form of payment and transferring for international travellers. As we have seen in the virtual banks’ section, cryptocurrency is seeping into mainstream acceptance as a form of payment and store of value.

Even if you think that Bitcoin is not for you, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is here to stay. You don’t want to be that guy who said that the internet will fail. Rather than dismissing cryptocurrency completely, it’s worth becoming crypto literate. This is a large topic that goes beyond the scope of this post, so spend some time to research if you are not up to speed with the crypto world.

Cryptocurrency, as it stands now, is like being back in the early days of the internet. The leading cryptocurrencies now might be like the Netscape of the early nineties and replaced completely in a few years by something else.

Continuing with the mid-nineties analogy, the cryptocurrency exchange market resembles the early internet in that there is no dominant brand like Google or Amazon yet, which is probably a good thing.

There there are hundreds of exchanges operating so the best thing to do is to open a few different accounts and see which one works for you. Some accounts take weeks to verify and some altcoins are only available on selected exchanges, so you will end up with several different accounts.

This section is a list of some prominent cryptocurrency exchanges. Recommended cryptocurrencies and how to store crypto offline is another story beyond the purpose of this post.

Gold

Gold isn’t the most convenient asset to carry as a nomad, but if you have secure storage then here is a directory of gold dealers. Large gold storage can be handled by BFI Bullion in Switzerland. As a nomad though, it is easier to buy gold online.

Subscribe to this gold newsletter for weekly gold news.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are useful as an instant line of credit for emergencies or a tight cash flow situation, but they are expensive if you don’t manage them right.

I have a Qantas card which costs $50 a year to keep, plus it charges a 3% surcharge on international purchases. For every $1000 I spend overseas I incur $30 in charges, and those purchases earn between 500 to 1000 points. A one-way flight from Melbourne to Sydney is 8000 points, and a flight on Qantas can be found for under $100. If I am only earning points on international spends then it doesn’t work out in my favour.

Most people get value from these cards from the signup bonuses, which offer a lump of points (for example 50,000 points after spending $2,000 in 3 months) and no signup fee for a year. After the first year, you then cancel the card move on to the next one.

I now have a Crypto.com Visa Card, which offers cashback instead of frequent flyer points. The cashback percentage is determined by how much CRO (the Crypto.com token) you have staked to the card. Going back to my point of losing money on the Qantas card, it will make more sense to earn cashback rewards with this card in the future.

The Crypto.com Visa Card is a prepaid card. This is similar to a debit card, except that this card needs to be topped up in the app and not connected to a bank. You can top up using bank account transfers, other credit/debit cards, or cryptocurrency.

You can get a $25 bonus when signing up with this link.

This section is just a look at my personal credit card usage. I’ve left credit cards out of this list as that is a post in itself and cards varies by country. If you are from the US then playing the travel hacking game with credit cards is a worthy pursuit, but not so much for everyone else.

The Future of digital banking and finance

While I was compiling this report I opened several bank accounts to test out the process. One of the biggest stumbling blocks is continually having to prove your identity, often with archaic identification methods (like paper statements). This is a problem that might be solved by blockchain technology.

For now, I’m still straddling the divide between traditional banks and new banks.

Disclaimers/Disclosures:

I’m adding an extra disclosure here because no doubt I will be getting plenty of link requests for this article.

The products listed are presented as an informative directory and not an editorial endorsement. I am not paid for reviews and I don’t accept paid link placements. I don’t have any involvement with the companies listed. I’m not a financial advisor so do your own research before making investments. Some of these links include affiliate links, which may earn me a commission at no extra cost to you.