The OCU finds 12 cards that do not charge commissions for withdrawing money

They are few, but there are. An analysis of the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) reveals that there are up to a dozen cards without commissions, including for maintenance or for cash withdrawal at a different ATM from that of the issuing entity, although there is a maximum of withdrawals or amount .

Nor would they apply commissions for currency exchange on purchases or withdrawals at ATMs outside the euro zone, "unlike what most traditional cards do, which charge up to 3% of the amount of the operation, to which there would have been to add the one established for withdrawing money at ATMs".

OCU points out that "the only additional cost" would be the charge for sending the card home, "but only five banks apply it and, in no case, does it exceed seven euros."

Precisely, payment methods have become in recent years one of the most profitable products for financial institutions. In fact, in many cases, in order not to charge a commission for maintaining an account, they ask to have a credit card with which to carry out a certain number of operations. The analysis indicates that ten of these cards are issued by new banks through their accounts. standard: BNC 10, BNext, N26 Account, Monese, MyInvestor, Rebellion Pay, Revolut, Verse, Vivid and Wise. The other two, on the other hand, are from traditional banks and require direct debiting of a salary: Deutsche Bank and Pibank.

OCU points out that these cards can be "especially useful" for traveling or for making online purchases. For this last use, they can also have a "security bonus" since the possible fraud is limited to the preloaded balance.

Thus, the BNC 10, BNext, Monese, Rebellion Pay and Revolut cards allow instant top-ups from another card, which allows top-ups just before making the payment. "Another interesting use is to provide a controlled means of payment to a child minor, since the money can be transferred to the card as needed". The organization considers that this type of card is "a very interesting alternative" as a second card to avoid paying commissions, or as a first card "always and when the conditions of the associated account are interesting and the user manages himself well on the Internet". In any case, OCU remembers to check the conditions of the account that he has contracted in order to avoid paying "excessive charges".

The OCU study is released on the same day that the Bank of Spain confirms that cards have displaced cash payments in the pandemic. Thus, 36% of Spaniards used cash as the most common payment method in 2020, compared to 80% in 2014The supervisor thus points out that cash "has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as a means of retail payment , placing their preference for use in second place, after payment with cards".