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SoFi Money is an excellent cash management account for travelers. With no monthly fees and refunded ATM fees worldwide (as long as the terminal bears the Visa®, Plus®, or NYCE® logo, which is most), it is all upside and no downside when it comes to using SoFi Money for international travel. I was really pleased after testing my SoFi money card on a recent trip to Barcelona, where the ATM fees were refunded instantly, as expected.
On top of that, SoFi Money offers $25 (down from $50), just for signing up and depositing $100 into your account. It’s super easy money, requiring no hard pull and a very minimal deposit!
My Experience Using SoFi Money at an ATM in Barcelona
I arrived with a single €5 note in my wallet, the leftovers from a previous trip to Europe. I typically pull out a little cash, just to have available in a pinch, and I like to do so on arrival. However, airport ATMs can sometimes be some of the worst of the bunch, offering poor exchange rates and high fees.
This is exactly what I encountered with the first ATM where I tried my SoFi Money card. The exchange rates was an abysmal 0.837 EUR for 1 USD. Plus, the fee was an incredible €5.00. This was enough to make me move on to the adjacent option. I would assume SoFi would still refund the massive fee, but I decided not to test it.
The next ATM was better, offering 0.873 EUR per dollar, plus a €1.75 fee. This still isn’t a great exchange rate, considering the going rate should be closer to 0.89 EUR per USD, but this should only amount to ~40 cents of loss on the transaction. Saving the €1.75 is fantastic.
I navigated the ATM, electing to withdraw just €20. It should be enough for the small stuff I might encounter, and I could always pull out more now that I’m not worried about getting feed to death with multiple withdrawals.
Within a minute after completing the transaction, I received a notification on my phone from the SoFi Money app. Yes, it is that quick! The SoFi app showed an instant refund of $1.94, which is the converted amount of the €1.75 fee. The instant fee refunds make SoFi Money a fantastic travel account and debit card to carry when you’re out of the country.
SoFi Money $25 Bonus Offer
If you haven’t already signed up for SoFi Money, here is the current offer for signing up for a new SoFi Money account:
- Free to sign up
- No minimum balance requirement
- No account fees
- Deposit $100 to earn a $25 sign-up bonus offer
- ATM fees instantly refunded worldwide at ATMs bearing the Visa®, Plus®, or NYCE® logo (which is most)
- Easy ACH money transfer between your SoFi account and other bank accounts
- Current interest rate of 1.6% APY on your SoFi Money funds
Signing up for SoFi Money takes less then 3 minutes. They make it quick and easy to set up a new account, and many major banks will allow funds transfer nearly instantly. If you bank at a credit union, like I do, the process can take a few more days. The bonus typically posts 1-2 days after you make the required deposit.
With the ability to have ATM fees instantly refunded and no minimum account balance or fees, SoFi Money is definitely my go-to travel debit account. Plus, the card just looks snazzy.
I find that it is almost always better to simply take the local currency out of the ATM card. Visa will convert it at the current exchange rate (1% fee is sometimes reimbursed – Schwab). If you allow the bank/ATM to do the conversion, you lose big time.
Agreed. The exchange they offer is poor. The issue is that the screen on both ATMs was confusing, where no/cancel made me wonder if I was going to cancel the whole transaction.