Best Banking Strategies for Expats 2025: Hidden Fees, IBAN Discrimination, Transfers, SEPA — How to Avoid the Traps

Under SEPA rules, any IBAN from an EEA country must be treated like a local one for euro payments. Yet expats still report:

• Direct debits refused for phone, utilities or rent.
• Error messages on government or provider portals.
• Companies insisting on a local IBAN for technical reasons.

Cases of IBAN discrimination are regularly flagged by consumer groups. They particularly affect accounts from providers such as N26, Revolut and Wise, whose IBANs do not match the country where you live.

In practice, some legacy payment systems simply do not validate foreign SEPA IBANs correctly. It is illegal, but still happens.

Expat response:

• Politely quote SEPA rules and ask that your IBAN be accepted.
• Report persistent refusals via platforms like IBANDiscrimination.eu.
• When needed, offer another method such as card payment or a one-off transfer while you escalate the issue.

For expats, the painful part is often not the monthly account fee, but the invisible margins charged on every movement.

Main hidden costs:

• FX spreads between the real rate and the rate applied to your transfer or card payment.
• Extra SEPA fees disguised as international handling charges.
• Double conversions, such as EUR to USD then USD back to EUR.

An expat sending just two transfers of 1,000 euros per month can easily lose 300 to 600 euros per year without noticing.

Traditional banks that are often expensive for cross-border use include BNP Paribas, Banco Santander and Deutsche Bank.

More transparent players on fees usually include Wise, Revolut Premium and N26 You.

For a deeper comparison with scenarios and scripts, see also Best Banks for Expats in Europe 2025 and Best Banks for Expats 2025.

Within the euro area, SEPA transfers in euros should normally be free or very low cost. If a bank quotes high fees for a standard euro transfer to another SEPA country, treat it as a warning sign.

For currency exchanges (for example EUR to GBP, USD or CHF), dedicated providers usually beat traditional banks.

Quick overview:

• Wise: real mid-market FX rates plus clear, low fees.
• Revolut: strong everyday app, but weekend FX surcharges.
• Boursorama: surprisingly good for euro transfers from France to other European countries.
• HSBC Premier and similar global banks: useful if you keep assets in several countries, but more expensive.

Expat tip: schedule currency transfers mid-week when markets are calmer and avoid last-minute conversions forced by a bank or ATM. For France-specific rules and examples, see International Money Transfers from France 2025.

Even with an international card, cash withdrawals abroad can combine several types of fees:

• A percentage charged by your own bank on the withdrawal amount.
• A fixed fee charged by the local ATM operator.
• Dynamic currency conversion at a poor rate if you accept to be charged in your home currency.

To keep these costs under control:

• Always choose to be charged in the local currency rather than in your home currency.
• Use cards from services such as Wise or Revolut that allow a certain number of free withdrawals.
• Avoid tourist-focused ATMs with very high margins whenever you can.

If you need frequent cash, consider reducing the number of withdrawals and increasing the amount of each one, while still staying within safe limits.

Most expats are safer with a banking strategy than with a single flagship bank account.

A simple, robust structure often looks like this:

• One local bank in your country of residence for salary, rent and domestic bills.
• One international or multi-currency account for FX, travel and online payments.
• One home-country account for taxes, savings history and certain contracts.

This combination reduces admin friction, unlocks better FX rates and makes it easier to move again without rebuilding everything from scratch. For concrete playbooks, also see Switching Bank Accounts in Europe and Opening a European Bank Account.

Typical expat profiles often end up with slightly different mixes of accounts. A few examples:

Profile 1 – Expat in France:

• Local bank: for example Boursorama Banque or a regional Crédit Agricole.
• International account: Wise for multi-currency transfers.
• Optional: avoid relying only on Revolut for sensitive French direct debits.

Profile 2 – Expat in Spain:

• Local bank: players such as Sabadell or CaixaBank.
• International account: Wise or Revolut for receiving and sending money in several currencies.

Profile 3 – Expat in Germany:

• Local bank: Sparkasse or ING.
• Secondary account: N26 for travel and online spending.

Profile 4 – Expat in Switzerland:

• Local bank: for example UBS or Raiffeisen.
• Multi-currency account: Wise to move CHF to EUR at lower cost.

If you are fully remote or move frequently, combine this with the guidance in Digital Nomads 2025.

A common trap is to let the ATM or terminal convert the currency for you at its own rate. A typical example: paying a bill in Switzerland with a euro card and accepting to be charged in euros. Behind the scenes, the payment may go from CHF to EUR and then effectively back to CHF.

The result can be several percentage points of hidden cost compared with the real market rate, sometimes around seven percent in total.

How to avoid this:

• Always choose to pay in the local currency on the screen.
• When possible, hold balances in the local currency through a multi-currency account instead of relying on forced conversions.
• Read the receipt or on-screen summary carefully before confirming a large transaction.

For more on conversions and transfers, you can revisit International Money Transfers from France 2025.

James lives in Toulouse. His internet provider refuses the Lithuanian IBAN attached to his Revolut account for direct debit.

What he does:

• He emails customer support, quoting SEPA rules and attaching a screenshot of the error message.
• He opens an additional online account with Boursorama Banque to obtain a French IBAN.
• He uses Wise to receive his UK pension and convert it to euros at a better rate.

Outcome:

• His yearly banking costs drop compared with his previous traditional bank.
• No further IBAN refusals for French bills.
• He keeps using his Revolut account for travel and online shopping.

Before or just after your move, check the following:

• One local IBAN for daily life (rent, energy, subscriptions).
• One multi-currency or international account for travel and cross-border payments.
• Avoid depending on a single bank account for everything.
• Compare FX rates before each large transfer or card payment.
• Report any IBAN discrimination and switch providers if necessary.
• Store PDF copies of key banking documents in case of compliance checks.