International transaction fees on your card explained

What is an international transaction fee?

An international transaction fee is a charge that applies to any transaction, including purchases and cash withdrawals, processed outside of Australia, or in a foreign currency.

Knowing when you’ll be charged the fee, how much it is and how to avoid it can be confusing. Let’s make it simple. It’s important to know that you don’t have to be overseas for the fee to apply.

International transactions are transactions where the merchant, financial institution, or entity processing the transaction is located outside Australia. These transactions are either:

• Single-currency international transaction: where the transaction or cash withdrawal is made in Australian dollars (AUD).
• Multi-currency international transaction: where the transaction or cash withdrawal is made in a currency other than AUD.

When you’ll be charged a fee

Here are some of the most common examples of when the fee applies.

Shopping online

Do you love online shopping or frequently book holidays or hotels online? If you do, any transaction processed outside of Australia or in any foreign currency (e.g., USD or GBP) will attract the fee. The fee may apply even when you’re on an Australian website.

Travelling overseas

You’ll be charged an international transaction fee when you use your NAB credit card or NAB Visa Debit card overseas to:

• make a purchase
• withdraw cash from an ATM (a 'cash advance'  ).

When buying something overseas, you may be given the option to pay in either local currency or AUD. In either case, you’ll be charged your card’s international transaction fee. While it may seem helpful to see the amount you’re paying in AUD, you should check the exchange rate to determine which option is better for you.

Use our foreign exchange calculator to find up-to-date Visa currency conversion rates. If you choose to pay in AUD, be aware that the exchange rate the merchant uses to convert the transaction amount might be different to the exchange rate Visa uses.

How to avoid international transaction fees

When shopping online, it’s not always clear when your purchase is being processed overseas. For example, you could be on a '.com.au' website and paying for the purchase in AUD. However, the transaction may actually be processed by the merchant outside of Australia, so the fee will apply. Check with the merchant if to confirm if you’ll be charged an international transaction fee. 

The best way to avoid the international transaction fee is to look for debit and credit cards that allow you to shop overseas without being charged international fees.

Products with no international transaction fee

Here are the NAB products that allow you to avoid the international transaction fee: 

The NAB Rewards Signature Card doesn't charge an international transaction fee on purchases processed overseas and cash withdrawals from an overseas ATM. Standard cash advance fees and fees for using international ATMs still apply.

The NAB StraightUp Card comes with no interest as well as no international transaction fee. There’s just a simple monthly fee and minimum monthly payment based on your credit limit.

The NAB Platinum Visa Debit card doesn’t charge an international transaction fee on purchase transactions processed overseas. It does charge an international transaction fee on overseas cash withdrawals, and fees for using international ATMs.

NAB Now Pay Later has no international transaction fees, plus no late fees, account fees or interest. Our buy now pay later account is a simple way to split your everyday purchases into four equal repayments. Available in the NAB app only .

Learn more about how to choose the right credit card for your next holiday.

Fee amounts for different transactions

See what fees apply when using your card for international purchases.