Introduction#
At the beginning of this year, the blogger started backpacking on a budget and has since traveled through more than ten countries. Unlike the QR code payments commonly used in China, most foreign countries adopt a mixed payment method of cash (for vendors) and card (for supermarkets). The blogger primarily used the Zen physical card for withdrawals and Apple Pay for contactless payments (NFC) while using public transport. Additionally, the blogger attempted to revive Wise, registered for N26, and encountered several local withdrawal and card usage issues, which are summarized below.
Miscellaneous#
Revival of Wise#
There are many examples on Google of users reviving Wise with the same passport and using it stably for a long time. After two years, the blogger registered for Wise again, using a different email and a different phone number (a Serbian number), but the same passport, and chose a mainland China address. The account was suspended within half an hour after registration.
N26 Registration#
Invitation link: https://n26.com
Registering for N26 went very smoothly, using a German address and a Serbian network and number, followed by a transition to a video verification with a human. The first operator was a young white woman, and since the blogger was in a hostel with other roommates chatting nearby, the operator ended the call due to the lack of a private environment. The second operator was a patient white elderly lady, who spoke clearly and quickly in English, inquired about the identity of the blogger's hostel roommate (the blogger replied "friend"), and then began the verification process. The verification process took less than ten minutes, and within two to three minutes after the video call ended, the blogger received an email confirming successful registration with N26. The blogger opened the N26 app, selected the Standard free plan, received a virtual card, skipped the German tax number, and filled in the Chinese tax number (ID number).
Deposit#
The blogger used the Zen card through Apple Pay to deposit 20 euros into N26, activating the N26 virtual card. Note that the first Apple Pay deposit is free of charge; thereafter, each transaction incurs a 3% fee, so it is advisable to deposit more money during the first Apple Pay transaction.
Address Change#
The blogger was confused during the N26 registration and used a German forwarding address, which is rumored to carry a risk of account suspension. Subsequently, the blogger changed the Home address to any residential address from Google Maps in Germany while keeping the Delivery address as the forwarding address. Changing the address requires uploading proof of address, and the blogger uploaded a Zen statement edited with an online PDF editor (which had a rich record of transactions), and the upload was approved within half an hour.
User Experience#
The blogger's Zen balance is in euros, while the Zen card settles in pounds. Using the card automatically converts euros to pounds before paying in local currency, with slight conversion losses, but the payment exchange rate is excellent (sometimes higher than the real-time rate). Additionally, there is a 10-20 second delay on the merchant's POS machine during each transaction, which is speculated to be the waiting time for the euro to pound conversion. The next day, the blogger used the N26 virtual card for all transactions through Apple Pay. N26 settles in euros, and NFC payments are very smooth, but the payment exchange rate is average. The blogger plans to use the Zen card as a withdrawal card and the N26 card as a spending card for the upcoming travels, as it is rumored that frequent spending with N26 can establish German credit and enable overdraft features.
Withdrawal Fees#
ATM withdrawal fees are divided into two parts: one is the local bank service fee; some countries' ATMs charge a service fee, for example, all local ATMs in Thailand (except for the Bank of China ATMs) charge a fee of 250 Thai Baht per transaction. The second is the bank card service fee; when withdrawing abroad, the issuing bank usually charges a certain fee. For example, most domestic bank cards charge 25-35 RMB per transaction, while most foreign bank cards charge 1.8-3% of the withdrawal amount per transaction. To withdraw cash from foreign ATMs without fees, one must first find an ATM that corresponds to the payment system of the bank card (UnionPay, MasterCard, VISA, etc.), and the ATM must also be fee-free. Finally, the current bank card must have the function of free withdrawals abroad, such as the Zen MasterCard (with a monthly fee-free withdrawal limit of 200 euros), Charles Schwab VISA card (fee-free withdrawals worldwide), and Monzo MasterCard (with a monthly fee-free withdrawal limit of 200 pounds).
Card Usage Issues#
It is best to link cards to Apple Pay for NFC payments abroad to avoid card cloning and unauthorized transactions. In many countries, it is also necessary to use Visa/MasterCard NFC to enter and exit the subway. It is important to note that domestic cards without the UnionPay logo cannot be linked to the Apple Pay system. Cards with both UnionPay and Visa or MasterCard logos will become UnionPay single-logo cards when linked to Apple Pay, and after leaving Asia, POS machines supporting UnionPay logos are extremely rare. This means that domestic-issued cards have difficulty achieving NFC payments abroad, making it particularly important to have a foreign-issued Visa or MasterCard linked to Apple Pay.