Best Banks for Digital Nomads (Tested by Real Nomads!)

Finding the right bank is an essential step in keeping your digital nomad lifestyle. Use the wrong bank and you may find yourself deep in unnecessary transaction fees and international transfer fees for that ATM withdrawal.

If you’re abroad, payment for that tasty Italian espresso becomes way more expensive after fees are tacked onto the transaction.

You may not even know about all of the multiple other transactions happening by banks skimming off the top of your hard-earned money.

As a digital nomad myself for a few years and now an expat abroad, I’ve developed expertise in trial-and-error around our own banking needs. This guide shares what I’ve learned so that you can find the best bank for your digital nomad needs.

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How to Decide on the Best Digital Bank

A man in an airplane gives the thumbs up signal.

Digital banks offer the ability to manage your money needs virtually and without the need to step foot in a physical branch. You should be able to do nearly everything that a physical branch allows you to do, just on the internet or on the app.

Before you decide what bank to use as a digital nomad, you should take stock of what you need the bank to do. (I promise this is not a cop-out answer already.)

Your needs may be different than ours, and each bank tends to have its positives and negatives.

Here are features that I’d suggest looking for in your banking needs:

It must be easy to open online. Nobody wants the extra cost to travel back home in person just to speak to the manager.
No or little money is required to open. That $5,000 opening requirement can suck it. (That’s unless you get free money for doing it, of course. Then it’s cool.)
There are no monthly fees or minimum money requirements. Banks that do this should be illegal, but alas, capitalism.
There are free cash withdrawals, even at out-of-network ATMs. Why should you have to pay your own bank to take out your own money?
You get reimbursement for ATM withdrawal fees. This is a bonus. You shouldn’t have to worry about which network you get your currency from, even worldwide.
Foreign transaction fees are low or nonexistent. Visa/Mastercard/Amex is a global network y’all. Why do some cards have them and some do not?
There are minimal currency conversion fees. This ensures you get as close to exchange rates as possible and money transfers aren’t riddled with extra fees.
It offers FDIC coverage. I’m looking at those banks in California that shall not be named.
You get travel security features and fraud protection. Being mobile brings about problems you cannot always control. Having a number to call in case of an unauthorized charge is important.

What are the best banks for digital nomads?

The best banks for digital nomads are:

Charles Schwab Bank Investor Checking
Fidelity Cash Management Account
Capital One 360
Wise
Revolut

Let’s get into the details of each of these.

My #1 Pick: Charles Schwab Bank Investor Checking

You’re probably familiar with Chuck the Broker, but their banking arm provides one of the best checking products for digital nomads. We’ve been customers ourselves now for over 15 years!

I’m feeling extra old at the moment.

Much has happened since I opened the account in 2008, but I am 98% sure that I opened it up to get a $100 sign-up bonus at the time.

Even if I was wooed by the free dough, I’m so glad we have had this account for our travels. On a trip to Colombia, their ATM fees were surprisingly high for how cheap everything else was.

At the end of the month, though, Schwab deposited $25 back into our account, making our cash withdrawals free instead of including the extra ATM fees.

This allowed us to take the money out of an ATM when it was needed vs. having to carry a ton of cash around at the beginning of the trip to avoid fees. It’s safer that way, by the way.

We’ve used this card in all 50 States and dozens of countries and I cannot recommend this account enough if you are a digital nomad.

Charles Schwab Bank Investor Checking Pros & Cons

Pros:

It’s easily opened online, with no face-to-face required.
Enjoy no monthly service fees, account minimums, or foreign transaction fees when using their debit card.
You get unlimited ATM fee reimbursements worldwide.
Enjoy FDIC coverage of $250k per depositor.
New customers get free standard checks if you’re into that sort of thing, along with mobile check deposits and bill pay.
All customers get access to security features like card lock/unlock, transaction/account alerts, two-way fraud text alerts, and travel notifications.
Travelers get additional benefits like fraud protection for unauthorized transfers or purchases, travel accident insurance, and travel and emergency assistance services.
Accounts offer easy integration with mobile wallets like Apple Pay.
Schwab Bank cards are also covered by the Schwab Security Guarantee. If an unauthorized transaction is made in your Schwab Bank account, you will not be responsible for that transaction or any related interest or transaction charge.

Cons:

Parked cash won’t earn much interest. C’est la vie with checking accounts, unfortunately.
You are required to open a Charles Schwab brokerage account at the same time, but it can just sit there as there are no fees associated with this account.
The app is geared more towards their brokerage customers, so you’ll get nice charts and stock ticker info that you really don’t need for a checking account.
ATM fees are reimbursed at the end of the month, so you’ll have to wait a little bit for that cash.
If you need to speak to the manager in person, you’ll have to visit one of their few brokerage locations and not a bank branch like you are used to.
If you are planning to move overseas, you’ll need to open this before going unless you like skirting the rules with a VPN. (This isn’t something I’m telling you to do.)

Pro-tip: For international spending, Schwab will charge you the U.S. dollar equivalent of the transaction. The actual exchange rate will be determined by the bank with which you conduct the transaction, the network the ATM belongs to, or by Visa.

Fun fact: This isn’t unique to Schwab and is known as currency conversion fees. Essentially it’s a fee the middleman gets for the pleasure of converting your cash.

To help minimize these unavoidable fees, never accept the ATM conversion rate they show you on the machine. This is the most expensive option, as banks tack on an additional 5-10% to the exchange rate.

If you smartly decline the bank’s exchange rate, you’ll be charged either by the ATM network or Visa. You want this, as it usually adds around 0.25% to the exchange rate depending on if it’s a Visa, Mastercard, or another interbank ATM network.

That comes out to about 25 cents for every $100 you spend.

My #2 Pick: Fidelity Cash Management Account

Next up is fellow brokerage giant Fidelity and their Cash Management Account (CMA). While Fidelity is not technically a bank, their CMA is a bank-like product that also works as an excellent choice for your nomad banking needs.

I opened this account for us last year when they had a “Get $100 free for depositing $50” deal.

We already had our Health Savings Account with Fidelity, so it was very easy to open. Despite the free money I received, I’d recommend this for your digital nomad banking needs as well.

When it comes to options abroad, a backup can be a lifesaver.

Fidelity Cash Management Account Pros & Cons

Pros:

Opening digital bank accounts is a breeze.
The CMA has no minimums or unnecessary monthly fees.
You’re provided with a Visa debit card like Schwab.
You can open this account without an associated brokerage account because technically, this account is a brokerage account.
Your parked cash will be deposited with one of their 26 partner banks like Chase, U.S. Bank, and Goldman Sachs. That means your funds will have the same FDIC insurance as Schwab even though Fidelity itself isn’t an FDIC-insured bank.
That parked cash will earn much better interest.
ATM fees are also reimbursed worldwide, and even credited on the same day.
You can link to a brokerage account for overdraft protection.
Similar transaction alerts and fraud protections as your Charles Schwab account are in place.

Cons:

Fidelity takes a while for your money to be available the first time. Plan to open this at least a week before you need to use the money.
To be eligible for reimbursement, the ATM must display the Visa®, Plus®, or Star® logos. (The stickers are usually listed on the outside of the ATM.)
Fidelity charges a 1% foreign transaction fee that may not be reimbursed. Sadly, this is in fine print and may be missed by some.
The only physical locations are brokerage offices like Schwab.
Their app is geared more towards a brokerage customer.

I’m not a fan of bank services that charge foreign transaction fees. While it is awesome you get reimbursed for ATM fees on the same day, the 1% extra tacked on is why we don’t use this as our primary account.

If you normally keep the FDIC limit or more in your checking, the interest provided on that cash might outweigh the foreign transaction fees for using your card overseas.

If you have this much moolah in your checking, though, can we be friends?

My #3 Pick: Capital One 360 Checking

The celebs won’t tell you this in the credit card commercials, but Capital One also has a decent banking option for digital nomads in their 360 Checking account.

One of our credit cards is a Capital One Venture, so occasionally we receive promotional offers to open other products. This happened last year, when Capital One offered $250 for us to open a 360 Checking account.

Note: If you don’t have a Capital One Venture, I’d highly recommend it as one of your preferred travel cards. Use our referral code to give us the gift of some miles upon approval. We’d really appreciate it! We also love the Chase Sapphire. It’s gotten us through quite a few jams after family emergencies and last-minute cancellations.

Capital One 360 Checking Pros & Cons

Pros:

There is no account maintenance, minimum balance fees, or foreign transaction fees.
You won’t get hit with ATM fees for going out of their network.
There are hundreds of physical locations in the U.S. that are actual banks if speaking to the manager in person is your thing.
Their app is geared to banking customers so you won’t be distracted by shiny things unrelated to your digital nomad bank account.

Cons:

There’s no ATM reimbursement if the machine you use tacks one onto the total.
Their checking accounts get the (dis)honor of boasting the stingiest interest rates.
Their customer service wasn’t super helpful when I forgot to input the coupon code for my free $250 when applying. Yes, I hold grudges when it comes to our banking.

Personally, I’d recommend Schwab or Fidelity over Capital One, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for you. Their app is very user-friendly.

In comparison to the trading-like apps Schwab and Fidelity have, it’s much more familiar to the majority of digital nomads who don’t trade stocks.

Note: Capital One regularly has deals for opening new accounts, so check sites like Doctor of Credit before opening. Remember to input the code they give you on the application when applying. I found this out the hard way.

My #4 Pick: Wise Multi-Currency Account

If you’re living out of the United States and don’t want to navigate traditional banks just yet, tech bros in the U.K. have come up with a solution: neo-banks.

Fun fact: Neo-banks are called as such because they are internet-only fintechs and not technically banks. Get it? Neo? Matrix? Ugh.

Let’s see how this works in practice.

You’ve met a cool new group of friends because let’s face it, you are awesome. They cover your dinner. What do you do to pay them back? What are your options for free international money transfers?

There isn’t an ATM nearby, and sadly, Venmo doesn’t work outside the United States.

Enter Neo-banks.

A man holds his jacket closed on a mountain.

Digital nomads who are U.S. citizens really only have two options for online-only banks: Wise and Revolut. Let’s start with Wise.

Wise was founded in 2011 as Transferwise in the UK. It’s one of the most popular neo-banks around the world for good reason. They offer a multi-currency account perfect for digital nomads.

In total, this app serves your nomad banking needs in multiple currencies (50+) and over 170 countries.

We just opened this account and it was a breeze with just a few button clicks, SMS codes, and a scan of an ID. Wise made it easy to obtain euro and USD account bank details from our couch.

I also love the transparency they provide in their pricing, with a calculator allowing you to see the fees upfront. Yours truly hates having to read the fine print to find out what the charges will be.

Ahem, I’m looking at you, Fidelity.

Wise Multi-Currency Account Pros & Cons

Pros:

They are only online and app-based, so it’s convenient to open from anywhere.
No money is needed to open and there are no monthly minimum balance requirements.
Adding money via direct debit from your bank account is free for seven different currencies.
You can also add funds via Google/Apple Pay, debit card, credit card, and wire for a fee.
You can be paid like a local in nine different currencies. Euro freelance payment FTW!
You can send money to other Wise users for free. It’s like an international Venmo.
Need to convert USD in your account to euro? You’ll get the spot exchange rate, or the real exchange rate you see on Google, plus a nominal currency conversion fee.
You can order a debit card with limited spending and ATM capabilities.
You can opt-in to receive a generous interest rate on your USD and be eligible for FDIC coverage. It is a similar program that Fidelity uses to provide FDIC coverage and to give you interest on your parked cash.

Cons:

Adding USD or Canadian dollars via ACH/direct debit comes with a small fee. This is very dumb.
Cash or check payments are not supported, so there’s no mobile picture deposit.
It costs $9 to get that ATM card, but it doesn’t come with monthly subscription fees.
You can only take out $100 at the ATM per month on two or fewer withdrawals before a $1.50 fee kicks in per transaction.

Overall, this is an excellent account to have available for digital nomads seeking the best bank for international transfers in a hurry. I just wouldn’t use this as your ATM solution for cash.

Wise hasn’t heard of inflation apparently, so I’m not sure what you’d be able to get with that $100 limit or only two withdrawals per month. I guess Neo didn’t use ATMs in The Matrix franchise.

My #5 Pick: Revolut Standard Account

People in the U.K. really needed assistance spending money in the European Economic Area, so their struggle is again our gain with Revolut. They were founded in 2015 and provided access to U.S. customers in 2020.

Today, they boast over 28 million personal users and over 500,000 business users on their site. They also support over 200 countries and regions with the ability to store 29 different currencies in their app.

A man on a mountaintop with his arms outstretched

This is not just a mobile app for payments and money transfers. Revolut has the ability to trade crypto, stocks, and commodities if you’re looking for that added functionality.

They also offer personal and business bank accounts and look to support more of your wealth management needs vs. Wise.

Revolut offers different pricing tiers: Standard, Plus, Premium, and Metal. The Standard account is free, so I would recommend opening this account and seeing how it works for you before paying a monthly subscription fee for a higher tier.

Revolut Standard Account Pros & Cons

Pros:

It’s very easy to open online and get started.
You can request money via a link or QR code.
They provide daily interest for your pounds, euros, or U.S. dollars held in the account.
They provide a free currency exchange Monday through Friday for up to 1,000 GBP per month.
Their chat function is encrypted so everyone won’t be a busybody with your transactions.
Freelancers can receive a free Revolut Pro account.

Cons:

If you need a physical card, you’ll have to pay for delivering that card to your residence.
Your no-fee ATM withdrawals are limited to 200 pounds per month or less than five transactions per month.
The paid tiers are the only way to get 24/7 priority customer support, so your queue is likely longer on the free plan.
Theft/accident coverage, ticket/event coverage, refund protection, and purchase protection are only provided on the paid plans.
This isn’t a nomad bank app I’d use for trading stocks, crypto, and commodities. There are many options where you don’t have to pay a fee per trade.

Overall, I would recommend the standard plan in addition to Wise for sending money to your friends. You’ll have to see if the additional benefits outweigh the monthly costs of the other plans Revolut offers.

Given all of the perks provided when you pay a monthly subscription fee, it’s hard not to think they are pushing you towards paying them a monthly fee.

These banks and bank-like applications are your best options as a digital nomad. While I have Schwab on top, why stop at one bank account? Why not have two, three, or heck, all five at your fingertips given the lack of monthly fees?

You’ll have more money in your pocket, fewer fees going to “the man” and more funds for adventures to come. The world awaits!

More Options for Digital Nomad Banking

Let’s dig into a few more options that deserve mention just because you’ll see them elsewhere as you do your research:

Discover Bank: Sadly, a click on the website let me know that they’re not accepting new applications for their Cashback Debit account at this time. If this mythical account does exist for new customers, it sounds similar to Capital One with the added perk of 1% cash back for using their debit card.
SoFi: SPAC darling SoFi advertises no fees on pretty much anything for their savings/checking accounts. A quick perusal of their website resulted in a few red flags for me, notably how they describe their fee structure as “subject to change at any time.” In addition, SPACs can suck it.
N26: While N26 stopped offering accounts to U.S. customers in 2022, N26 is a good option for digital nomads unburdened by U.S. passports. N26 has many of the same features as Revolut, including the subliminal push towards a monthly subscription fee. I suggest opening a free Standard account for a test drive.

Why trust me on the best banks for nomads?

A man leans against a sign that reads "This way."

That’s a fair question. I don’t trust strangers on the internet, either. Perhaps some background would help.

First, became digital nomads ourselves after selling our house in San Diego several years ago. We have firsthand experience with how traveling can affect your day-to-day banking needs and what fees you can and cannot avoid.

Before that, I spent nearly two decades in the insurance industry. My job involved enormous sums of money.

I would look at hundreds of millions of dollars of insurance losses a year to determine how much XYZ Fortune 500 Company would have to pay us for their insurance. Think Ben Stiller in Along Came Polly. I told you I was old.

Please don’t fall asleep, I’m almost done.

I’ve also been fortunate to travel to dozens of countries.

That means spending thousands of dollars in foreign currencies while minimizing how rich the banks get off of our transactions.

Last, but not least, I’m going to humble brag for a second. Knowing about money and how to keep more of it in our own pockets let me be financially independent and retire from insurance work in 2020 at the age of 39.

No, I don’t have a book to sell you about this. Yes, I woke up like this.

Banks I Don’t Recommend for Digital Nomads

The following banks, fintechs, and neo-banks all show up on common searches for the best digital nomad banks. For various reasons, I recommend you’re still better off with the options I’ve already detailed for you above.

If you like having all of the info, here we go:

Monese: This money app may be a decent option for you if you live in one of the 30 European Economic Area countries or the U.K. as a compliment to a Wise or Revolut account, but that also makes it limited.
Monzo: This is more of a digital app for budgeting, money management, and saving. I do like that they have low fees, but you have more efficient options out there.
PayPal: The fees section of their website is 10 pages long. That says a lot. You likely already have an account set up if you do any sort of blogging or freelance work, but you have way better options for your general banking needs.
Payoneer: This is a PayPal alternative that you may interact with if you work with clients abroad. It’s not fit for day-to-day banking needs, and as a PayPal competitor, it competes on a fee level, too.
HSBC, Citibank, and Chase: I’m not sure why these all get put on these lists, to be honest. These are the kinds of banks I’m trying to steer you away from. They don’t offer perks that would rank them as a preferred bank for digital nomads.

Can you have a bank account in the U.S. if you live abroad?

Yes, you can have a bank account in the U.S. if you live abroad.

Many banks require you to have an address in the United States but will allow you to change the mailing address to another country. Check with your bank first regarding their policies as they vary by institution.

Several U.S. banks also have international branches, including HSBC, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, CitiGroup, and Chase. It’s best to review your bank and look for foreign locations on their website.

The best digital bank for you depends on your needs.

Finding the best bank for nomads is about a seamless, hassle-free experience while you’re on the go. As a nomad, you need a bank that offers international accessibility with zero to low fees, convenient mobile banking, and robust security measures.

Consider your individual preferences and travel patterns before deciding on the best bank account for digital nomads that suits your needs.

Interested in more real talk? Check out these posts:

A few more tips for frequent travelers:

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