If you are shopping online from another country, going on vacation around the world or planning to emigrate, you will have to pay in foreign currency. A foreign currency account in a traditional bank can be a temporary solution, but then discover the hidden fees and commissions that will come out of your pocket sooner or later.

The solutions in this article will allow you to open a European account within minutes and free of charge, one that you can really trust. We listed a variety of services suitable for different needs, and the bottom line is that each of these services is free, reliable, fully transparent and will save you a lot of money and frustration from the traditional alternatives.

International account – Wise

Wise is completely free for residents of EU countries and it also gives interest on the current account which is calculated and paid to you every month.

This account also gives you the option of issuing a Visa debit card with a 16-digit number like a credit card, so you can use it also for all online payments. The most surprising advantage is that once you deposit euros, dollars or pounds to your balance then the payment with the card is possible in almost any other foreign currency, and the conversion is done automatically without commission and with the lowest exchange rate difference at the time of payment.

We have never had any problems with large money transfers either, and the limit for transfers is up to €30,000 per day. Large money transfers are better NOT be made directly between traditional banks, because their fees for sending and receiving international transfers will be crazy and unnecessary.

The money deposited in your Wise account is actually deposited in a physical bank account registered on your name depending on the currency. Euro currency is deposited in Belgium with an IBAN account number that begins with the letters BE, and is insured by the Central Bank of Europe up to €100,000. USD is deposited in an American bank account the U.S.A., GBP is deposited in a British bank account in the U.K. etc.

This also means that all of the international transfers and conversion of currency is done without hidden fees that are charged by traditional banks. There is full transparency for any conversion rate or commission, which is rare in the banking industry.

In case that you are moving to Italy but your residency is not yet officially registered than you should register to Wise with your residence address in another EU country which is not in Italy (e.g. Germany or Ireland), as Italy is the only EU country which demand a proof of residency to open a bank account.

Try out this free account and order the debit card as well. By registering through our invitation link, you receive a first international transfer with conversion to top up your account with the amount of up to €500 without any commission and we might get from them some thank you present as well:

https://wise.com/invite/u/amitb657

German account – Commerzbank

If you need a bank account with a German IBAN code (starting with the letters DE) then Commerzbank is a great option you. It is completely free when you deposit every month at least €700 in total. It can be a salary or simply a bank transfers that you can immediately withdraw or transfer back. For example, we have set an automatic monthly bank transfer at the amount of €700 from our Euro account on Wise and one back from the Commerzbank account so there is no charge whatsoever from either bank. We have been customers since many years and we highly recommend Commerzbank to those who specifically need a German Bank account.

By using our link to open an account you will receive a gift of €50 that will be deposited into your account. After opening the account through the link, you just need to enter the referral code: 3QHCY3

Registering through our link will give us also a modest present from Commerzbank and will help us finance this website and continue helping you:

https://www.commerzbank.de/girokonto-antrag?path=/pk/de/Abschluss/GD51_Girokonto_DD_MCD_TGK_50Start_KwK&x-werbecode=3QHCY3

International investments account – Interactive Brokers

The Interactive Brokers investment account or in its internet abbreviation IBKR, is the best service we have tried so far for transferring, depositing, converting and investing large sums of money, and it is important to note that opening and managing the account is completely free. This is not a bank account, hence your money is deposited in the company’s trust account and it is not intended or available for daily withdrawals or current payments. It is simply a safe place to deposit and protect funds, to invest in international financial products such as shares, ETFs and bonds, to exchange large amounts of foreign currency and to make significant money transfers in life, for example when you will buy your dream home.

The money deposited in the account is insured by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank up to the equivalent sum of $250,000. Therefore, for large sums of money you may prefer to split the deposit into several accounts on the name of other family members to meet the insured deposit threshold.

For money deposited to your balance and not yet invested, you will receive from IBKR each month an additional interest calculated on a daily basis, the highest offered among the reliable investment companies that we have heard of so far. A U.S. capital gains tax of 20% will be automatically deducted from the money you earn and the rest is deposited to your balance.

By registering with our link, you can receive as a registration gift some IBKR share options worth up to €1,000 (according in the ratio of 1/100 to the deposited money) that you can exercise two years later at the future market price. Note that opening an IBKR account entitle you to different benefits depending on your declared country of residency. The conditions of the IBKR account for EU-residents might be better than if you register as a resident of your home country. In any case, the registration is quite straight forward.

This is the link to register for the Interactive Brokers investment account. Registering through our link will also provide us a small gift from them about one year after you register and deposit your funds:

https://ibkr.com/referral/amit964

Summary

International account – Wise

• Services: secured deposit of money, card for payment online and in stores, free money transfers in Europe (SEPA), best rate international transfers, immediate and affordable currency exchange
• Registration time: 3-5 minutes
• Time to confirm the account: minutes to hours
• Registration cost: free of charge
• Management fee: free of charge and you even get cashback, an interest on the deposited money
• Foreign exchange fees: the currency exchange rates are lower than any other banking service that we know and conversions are made automatically from the currencies that you have deposited
• Guarantees: the Central Bank of the European Union insures deposits up to the total sum of €100,000 for EU residents

German bank account – Commerzbank

• Services: secured deposit of money, debit card for payment in stores only, free money transfers in Europe (SEPA), accumulation of SCHUFA, the German personal credit rating (for better or worse, it’s up to you)
• Registration time: 15-30 minutes
• Time to confirm the account: minutes to days
• Registration cost: free of charge
• Management fee: free of charge
• Guarantees: the Central Bank of the European Union insures deposits up to the total sum of €100,000 for EU residents

International investments account – Interactive Brokers

• Services: secured deposit of money, convenient to transfer large sums of money , immediate and extremely cheap foreign exchange, investment in international financial products
• Registration time: 3-5 minutes
• Time to confirm the account: A few hours after submitting all the necessary documents
• Registration cost: free of charge
• Management fee: free of charge and you even get cashback, an interest on the deposited money
• Foreign exchange fees: conversion at the representative exchange rate for a fixed fee
• Guarantees: The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank insures deposits up to the equivalent of $250,000

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