Foreign and Overseas Transactions

Use our current account wherever you are in the world

If you qualify for our Visa debit card (not cash card+) you can use it anywhere in the world that accepts Visa payments. You can also withdraw cash from any cash machine that accepts Visa cards.

Do you have a cash card+?: If you have a cash card+, you cannot use your card to make non-UK cash withdrawals. Find out more about the cash card+.

Online and telephone banking

If you're registered for online and/or telephone banking, you can continue to manage your money as normal while you are away.

Using your card abroad
Sending money abroad
FAQs

Purchases and cash machine withdrawals

If you carry out a transaction using your card in a currency other than sterling, it will be converted to sterling on the day the transaction is processed by our card scheme providers at a wholesale rate of exchange. For an indication of that exchange rate, you can see the Visa wholesale rate of exchange at www.visaeurope.com/fxcalculator. This is an "indication" because transactions are processed when the retailer passes them on to the scheme provider, which is generally not on the same day the transaction took place.

Charges for using your card abroad

There is a commission charge and a cash withdrawal charge for transactions in currencies other than sterling.

You will be charged the charges shown in the table below when you use your card for transactions in currencies other than sterling. These include all charges that we have to pay to other organisations on your behalf.

Foreign transaction charges

Charge	Amount	Applies to cash withdrawals	Applies to card purchases (see note 1)
Commission charge for non-sterling transactions	2.00% of the transaction amount	yes	yes
Non-UK cash withdrawal charge (as well as the commission charge)	£1 for each withdrawal (see note 2)	yes	no

Note 1 - This fee also applies if you use your card to buy goods or services in a currency other than sterling on the internet or over the phone.

Note 2 - If you have a cash card+, you cannot use your card to withdraw cash overseas.

We take both the commission charge and the non-UK cash withdrawal charge from your account on the day the transaction is shown on your account. This may not be the same day you carried out the transaction.

The commission and non-UK cash withdrawal charges will be shown separately on your statement to make it possible for you to see the cost of using your account for transactions in other currencies.

SWIFT payments

If you are sending money abroad using our SWIFT service, please ask us for the exchange rate you will be offered.

Questions & Answers

Will I be charged the commission fee if I purchase something from an overseas website or over the telephone from an overseas company?: If the transaction is made in a currency other than sterling then it will be treated as a foreign transaction. For example if you were to pay for an item in US Dollars on a website, 2% would be added to the transaction.
Why is there an additional charge of £1 on cash withdrawals abroad but not on point of sale transactions?: We incur additional fees for cash withdrawals abroad. The cash withdrawal fee covers the charges that we incur on your behalf.
How will I know what I have been charged for a transaction? Will I be able to see this on my statement?: Your statement will show the details of your overseas transactions including a breakdown of any commission and cash withdrawal charges incurred.
When will the foreign use charges be taken from my account?: Both the commission fee and the non-UK cash withdrawal fee will be taken from your account on the day the transaction is shown on your account. Please note that this may not be the same day you carried out the transaction as it depends on when the merchant posts the payment.