Metro Bank review

The current account carries a monthly fee of £0, and the card is a debit card that spends the balance in that account. The two costs to plan for are the account fee and the currency conversion rate, so day to day spending in the UK stays predictable.

Currency conversion fees run 0% to 2.99% on the account, which means some spending in another currency carries no conversion charge while the top of the range applies at the other end. The listed feature is travel, so a trip abroad is where this cost matters most.

It is a debit card on the mastercard network, the network behind 38.9% of the cards compared here. Because it is a debit card, spending draws on the current account balance rather than a separate card balance.

The listed feature is travel, so the account is built around trips away rather than everyday extras. Keep expectations simple with it: a debit card, a monthly fee of £0 and a conversion rate that applies abroad.

Monzo Flex lists a currency conversion fee of 0%, against 0% to 2.99% on the Metro Bank account. If most of your spending happens abroad, that difference matters more than the monthly fee, which is £0 here.

Wise's currency conversion fee is 0.1%, which sits below the 0% to 2.99% range on the Metro Bank account. A monthly fee of £0 makes the account fee a non issue, so the choice turns on how often you pay in a foreign currency.

It sits at 1 of 379 brands on monthly fee, and its overall score is 6 with a cost score of 6. Free monthly fees are the norm in this set, so ranking first there does not settle the cost question.

It suits UK residents who spend mostly at home and want the travel perk on a plain current account. It fits less well for people who convert currency often, since fees run 0% to 2.99%, or for anyone looking for a crypto card rather than a debit card from a current account.