BNEXT: CARD FOR REMOVING MONEY ABROAD WITHOUT COMMISSIONS

Each trip involves your preparations. Within these, one of the key points is how to manage money. If you travel abroad it is very likely that your bank will leave you stiff on commissions. But there is always a solution for everything, in this case one of them is the Bnext card. The best card to get money abroad without commissions. Here we tell you more about it:

* At the moment it is a card that can only be requested for residents in Spain, although they have already launched it for Mexico! If you are Mexican and want to have it, sign up at this link.

As on other occasions, it is best to start by clarifying some terms to understand everything much better. Let's see what are the ways in which our bank can charge commissions when we use your cards abroad:

1. Commission for withdrawing money from a foreign teller: it is usually a% (between 4 and 5%) on the total amount we get. This commission is common for almost all banks, to know exactly your case, check the card contracts where it should be specified. Sometimes the commission is different if it is an EU country or outside the EU.

2. Exchange rate: we should see what type of exchange they apply in each transaction. The official Mastercard or Visa tables are usually used, to which banks add a commission. Even some banks have created their own table of exchange rates that they update every day, and which, as you can well guess, favors them.

Eye: it is very possible that when taking money abroad, the own local bank apply a commission own, from which we cannot get rid of. You have to be notified of this before withdrawing the money, and you will have to accept or reject it.

Well that seems! Taking money with the Bnext card saves you the commissions in withdrawals of money and payments abroad. further the official VISA exchange rate applies, so, both for cash withdrawals abroad (either in € or in different currency), or to make purchases, we will be exempt from claiming a% commission that both jxxx.

And best of all is thatthere is no cost maintenance, high, low, etc ... That is, it is totally free.

It ismade in Spain. Its founders (Guillermo Vicandi and Juan Antonio Rullán) worked in the financial sector when they had this idea in 2017. Little by little and with continuous improvements it has been taking shape and now it has become one of the most valuable startups, with more than 300,000 users!

But, if you take out the card, it's free,how can a profitable business be? Your idea is to retain as many people as possible, offering this free card and no hidden costs. But it does not stay here, in its app they are incorporating other types of financial services, comparative loans, insurance, investment ... It is a marketplace that allows you to centralize all financial products in a single platform, something like an Amazon of finance. And this is where they get their benefits, always from third parties (the user is not charged anything).

Apply for the Bnext card

Formerly we used banks that offer their free cards and without commissions, such as Evo or Ferratumbank. And, although the registration processes are getting easier, you keep having accounts open all over the world ...

The first thing to make clear is that Bnext is not a bank. The part that interests us is this: it is a prepaid card that you manage through your app. What is a prepaid card? In Spain they have not been very common, but in other countries like Italy they are a very normal way to start managing your money. They are basically cards, in this case VISA, with a balance. You recharge this balance as you need money, such as a transport card.

These recharges are made directly from the Bnext app and work as one more purchase. I mean, I have my money in my usual bank, but I want to recharge € 500 to my Bnext account for the trip to London. Well, in the same Bnext app I can add funds from my bank card, as if making a “balance purchase”. In the movements of my bank it will appear as a purchase, and on the Bnext card I will have those € 500 available immediately.

Make it clear that it is a VISA card, and for the purpose of payments or cash withdrawals, it works like any other. Great right?

We see a practical example from one of our trips to Poland, where the Zloty (PLN) is used. We made two movements with card:

• Withdrawal cash of 500 PLN
• Payment of an Uber of 17.77 PLN

The movements we see in the Bnext app are the charges of both withdrawal and payment in the first place. Subsequently there is a correction made by Bnext on the rates applied and they return an amount. Thus, for the withdrawal of 500 PLN, the total price in € would be € 116.06, which is exactly the official exchange rate that VISA had for that day.

→ Official VISA exchange rates

To make everything look clearer, let's give a practical example: we are traveling through Thailand and we withdraw 10,000 THB (about € 300) and we make a THB 1,000 payment in a hotel (about € 30) *. This is what would happen with different cards:

* At the time of writing the article, the official change was as follows: THB 10,000 = € 298.57 / THB 1,000 = € 29.86

As you can see, the best options for withdrawals of the cashier are the Bnext card or the N26 cards with payment plans, the following would be the standard N26 card and finally the card of any traditional bank, in this case Openbank. For make payments It is worth anyone except the bank of a lifetime (this is what we are trying to avoid).

The process to get this card is very simple. As we told you, Bnext relies on its app, from where you will have control over all movements. Also to register:

1. Download the app on your phone, or do it from a computer, from this link. (Use this links to get the € 5 balance of welcoming).
2. Link your phone number and proceed to the verification by SMS (it must be a Spanish number)
3. Put your name and your e-mail
4. Create your password (later you can use the fingerprint to enter the app)
5. Complete your personal information
6. Complete the identification data (DNI or NIE)
7. To verify the document, take the necessary photos (you can take it through the app or choose a photo you already have in your gallery)
8. Make the first deposit (€ 25 minimum), from your usual bank card.
9. Ask for the free card! You can modify the address or use the one you already set
10. It takes between one and two days. At the time of receipt, activate it through the app and you will receive the € 5 balance 😉

To increase the balance, all you have to do is pay with a credit card from any bank through the app. For security, to approve the secure payment from your secure bank you will have to pass a check via SMS. Do youThey will charge me money to receive an SMS on the Spanish phone while abroad? NO, even if you have your active Spanish line on the phone when you travel they do not charge you anything, and unlike receiving calls, receiving SMS is free. Of course, when you insert the SIM, deactivate the data, or use the dual SIM if you buy a local card from the country you visit and change the settings so that the data is used from the slot where you put the local SIM (we recommend SIM 1) .

Nothing happens, you will have the remaining balance on the card and you can use it for purchases or payments like a normal card. But you will see that with the benefits it has, in the end you will use it on a daily basis more than you think. Look at the following points.

Like every product of this type, Bnext has its advantages but also its disadvantages. Let's see it:

Advantage:

• No expenses, neither opening nor maintenance
• You may to take money out at any ATM (both in Spain and abroad) without commissions
• When taking in foreign currency, the official VISA exchange rate
• Neither palms additional commissions in payments in currencies other than €
• You may lock and unlock the card whenever you want from your mobile
• If you have Bnext friends, you can send them and receive money through the app instantly
• Support interesting through in-app chat
• It is pink

Disadvantages:

• Is a Debit, so if on your trip you need to rent a car, it would not be worth it. For this you need a credit card.
• Valid only for residents in Spain, with DNI or NIE
• Have usage limits, which we will detail below
• The card is not registered (your name does not appear) and to make cash advance in banks (for example in Thailand) they usually ask for a card with a name. Therefore, we also recommend traveling with the N26 card.
• Has had some malfunctions global that have taken time to resolve. We hope you learn from your failures and improve the product.

It also has a extra advantage somewhat rare, but not to be overlooked. Not long ago we they cloned a card (from another bank) when making an online payment, and they used it to make several purchases of enough pasta. This does not like anyone, but less like it if you have a few thousand € in the account. If you use the Bnext card for purchases on online sites that do not give you too much confidence, they can only “steal” you until they leave it to zero… And if you have little balance, the problem ends up being a little smaller. Of course, you will also have to go to the Civil Guard to file a complaint ... See at the end of the article other tips for using the card.

Apply for the Bnext card

Once they have settled, they are taking out very interesting campaigns. Right now they have this one, that for every purchase you make they give you points (€ 1 = 10 points, and double in purchases at associated companies *). These points are accumulated until you have enough to "redeem". What does it mean? As easy as looking in the app for a movement of a purchase that you have made in these establishments and select it to get that money back! For example, I had 24,000 points accumulated and I looked for a payment of an Uber of € 15, I exchanged it and they immediately returned the money to me.

* Associated companies: Spotify, Netflix, Uber, Ticketmaster, DoEat and more (they are constantly expanding).

Although everything seems very beautiful, it will not be an open bar. We will have certain limits per month, such as:

• Until € 500 at foreign ATMs per calendar month * without commissions (from that amount, they charge a 1.4% commission). You have up three withdrawals per month (if the sum does not exceed € 500) **
• Return of commissions in First 3 withdrawals Cashier cash in national territory and by calendar month.
• Maximum amount of € 2,000 in purchases in currency other than € per calendar month.

* The calendar month It is each of the 12 months of the year (from day 1 to the last day of the month, both included). The most extreme example would be to take out the equivalent of € 500 on the last day of a month, and another € 500 on the first day of the following month, without exceeding the limits and taking out a total of € 1,000 on consecutive days.

** The limits are calculated in euros, if you are traveling abroad you will have to calculate the change in local currency. If you spend € 500, the 1.4% commission is applied ONLY in the amount that exceeds those € 500 (for example, you are in the US and you get USD 600, which at that time is € 515, You are only charged the commission at € 15 (€ 0.21).

In the Bnext community, a thread has been created so that the users themselves comment on the countries where they have been able to use the card and the commissions that the cashiers themselves usually charge (from which we cannot get rid of). Here you can see it.

The Bnext card has become one of our last traveling companions, and we are so happy! So we recommend it, yes, keep in mind certain aspects during the trip:

• When you take money in a currency other than €, never choose the exchange rate proposed by the cashier, because you get nailed but well, choose the local currency.
• When you make purchases in currency no €, make it always in the local currency.
• Be careful because ATMs in some countries they apply their own fixed commission, of this we cannot get rid! But find out first, in Australia for example the ANZ does not charge them.
• Having in count the limits, the ideal is to make card payments whenever you can (for example in the hotel, taxis, restaurants ...) and get only those € 500 in cash for small expenses.
• If you still need to increase the limits and travel as a couple or in a group, I put it on a tray: get each one a card!
• Always cover the PIN code with your hand when taking out money, it is not uncommon for you clone the card. In that case, block the card as soon as possible through the app and notify it.
• In case of cloning, Bnext applies the VISA policy, and it does not cover some countries such as Indonesia, India or Thailand. Our advice if you travel through these countries is that you have the balance of the card at zero (or minimum) and that you recharge it only before withdrawing money, and with the amount you want to withdraw. This way if they clone you, they won't be able to steal you too much. Here we leave you the notification of Bnext.
• Carries other cards from other banks, because you never know when you will need them. And one of them that is credit!

All you have to do is use this link:

Sign up for Bnext

Please note that you will receive this € 5 balance once you activate your card.

In conclusion, we we use the Bnext card in all our trips as the first option to get money (we each have one, to double the limits). But we also complement it with the N26 card, another good option to avoid commissions on trips. Both are free, have no maintenance cost, the registration process is fast, and the operation and operation is simple. In short, the Bnext card is probably the best card to get money abroad without commissions!

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