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[Review] Comparative N26 vs Revolut: Which International Bank Card to Choose?

To register on Revolut, click here (8 € offered by following this link).

To register on N26, click here (15 € free with the code jeanbenm0852).

Whether you are on a world tour, a digital nomad or simply going on holiday abroad, the question arises as to how to pay on the spot. Especially when you are outside the euro zone.

Overall there are 3 options:

  • Come with euros and go to the exchange offices. You will find yourself with a lot of cash on you, paying exchange fees that aren’t necessarily advantageous
  • Use your classic French credit card. This will cost you a lot in fees.
  • Coming with an international bank card: the best solution.

Understand the importance of the exchange rate

It is important to understand the importance of the exchange rate.

Currencies are traded on the international foreign exchange market and their values are constantly fluctuating.

For example, on the foreign exchange market, as I write these lines, €1 is being exchanged for 10.81 Moroccan dirham.

If you have an international bank card, you can benefit from the real exchange rate, the one of the foreign exchange market.

If you have a classic bank card or if you go through an exchange office, the establishment will take a commission (+ possibly fixed fees), you will not benefit from the real exchange rate.

In an exchange office (this varies depending on the exchange office), you will only get back 10.25 Moroccan dirham with one euro.

The difference may seem small, but if your stay you spend 20 000 dirhams, it will cost you :

  • 1 850 € with the real exchange rate
  • 1 950 € through an exchange office

100 € lost for currency exchange stories, it’s a shame!

The two most used international bank cards are N26 and Revolut but it isn’t necessarily easy to choose between the two. All the more so because if the rates seem easy to understand at first glance, there are some subtleties that aren’t very obvious.

Criterion 1: Application

Both N26 and Revolut have very well-made mobile applications that allow you to do a lot of things in one click :

  • Enable / Disable ATM withdrawals
  • Activate / Deactivate payments on the internet
  • Activate / deactivate payments abroad
  • Define withdrawal and payment ceilings
  • Locking the card
  • Change PIN code
  • Receive instant notification of each payment

A game change according to me: no more receiving confirmation SMS when you buy on the internet: you can confirm your payments directly on the application.

In my opinion, N26 and Revolutare equal on this criterion: both applications are very good.

Criterion n°2: Distributor withdrawal fees

In many countries, payment by credit card is rarely possible, so it is important to study the fees for cash withdrawals at the ATM. Here is a summary

# Cost of the card Withdrawal fees for the euro zone Withdrawal fees outside the euro zone Applied exchange rate
N26 classic Free of charge 5 free withdrawals per month then €2 per withdrawal Free 1.7% of the amount
Revolut Standard Free of charge Sans frais jusqu’à 200 € / mois puis 2% du montant Sans frais jusqu’à 200 € / mois puis 2% du montant No fees (except on the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)
N26 Black 9,90 € / month 5 free withdrawals per month then €2 per withdrawal Free Real exchange rate
Revolut Premium 7,99 € / month Sans frais jusqu’à 400 € / mois puis 2% du montant Sans frais jusqu’à 400 € / mois puis 2% du montant No fees (except on the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)
N26 Metal 16,90 € / month 5 free withdrawals per month then €2 per withdrawal Free Real exchange rate
Revolut Metal 13,99 € / month Sans frais jusqu’à 600 € / mois puis 2% du montant Sans frais jusqu’à 600 € / mois puis 2% du montant No fees (except on the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)

Several things can be noted:

  • Free cards are very limited (only 200 € free with Revolut, 0 € with N26)
  • As soon as you have a paying card, N26 is more advantageous because there is no withdrawal limit, unlike Revolut
  • Revolut does not apply the real exchange rate during the weekends (and you really have to read the fine print to find out…)



As an example, we made two withdrawals of 2000 Moroccan dh on a Sunday (so a WE) at 2 minutes interval.

  • With N26, it cost us 178.55 € (1 € = 11.20 dh)
  • With Revolut, it cost us 187.93 € (1€ = 10.64 dh)

More than 9 € difference all the same!

Both for rates but also for price transparency, I vote N26!

Criterion n°3 : Credit card payment fees

Here is a summary

# Cost of the card Credit card payment fees Applied exchange rate
N26 classic Free of charge No fees Real exchange rate
Revolut Standard Free of charge No fees Real exchange rate (except the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)
N26 Black 9,90 € / month No fees Real exchange rate
Revolut Premium 7,99 € / month No fees Real exchange rate (except the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)
N26 Metal 16,90 € / month No fees Real exchange rate
Revolut Metal 13,99 € / month No fees Real exchange rate (except the WE, between 0.5 and 2% depending on the currency)

For both Revolut and N26, we prefer to pay by card whenever possible, it’s a guarantee of lower costs.

Advantage N26 again because Revolut does not apply the real exchange rate on the Weekend.

Criterion n°4: Insurance

The free cards do not offer any insurance.

Pay cards have insurance. This isn’t a criterion of choice for me because credit card insurances only cover you for the first 3 months abroad.

Being constantly abroad, we have a specific travel insurance: Chapka.

Verdict

From our viewpoint, it is the N26 black card (at 9,90 € / month) that is the most interesting when studying the withdrawal and payment fees which are the most important criteria for us.

However, we have also taken a Revolut Standard card (free) which we only use for backup purposes. This has two advantages:

  • In case of pirated / stolen / lost card, you have a backup card
  • N26 is a Mastercard, Revolut is a Visa card. In rare cases, one type of card may be accepted and not the other.(EDIT: although our Revolut card is a Visa, it seems that some have received a Mastercard. Information taken, Revolut distributes both types of cards without giving us the opportunity to choose).

Small detail to note: N26 and Revolut are foreign accounts. As such, you will have to declare them for tax purposes (without generating any additional tax). Here is the procedure to follow.

Another important point, a few months after we registered for the N26 service, we were asked by e-mail to fill in our tax identification number (found on our tax return). It takes barely 5 minutes but it seems that people who do not fill it in risk having their account closed. It is therefore a step not to be neglected.

Coupon code N26 and Revolut

You’ve made up your mind? I propose to sponsor you, you will get a few euros as a welcome gift.

For Revolut just click here to get 8 € gift.

For N26, click here and enter the coupon code jeanbenm0852 to receive a 15 € gift

To register on Revolut, click here (8 € offered by following this link).

To register on N26, click here (15 € free with the code jeanbenm0852).

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