Which Credit Card or Debit Card, I used for International Transactions?

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Which credit card or debit card is best to use for international transactions? Mostly my work is to send and receive payments from different countries. Should I use a Visa or Mastercard credit card for better acceptance and security, or is an internationally enabled debit card also a good option?

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Use a credit card (Visa/Mastercard) that has no foreign transaction fees. Credit cards offer comparable security and a ton of worldwide usage. However, credit cards provide better fraud protection and rights to challenge transactions versus debit cards do.

If you’re using the debit card solely to get cash from ATMs or from dealers you trust and purchase products and services, you’re fine. But for everyday international purchases, using a credit card with zero foreign transaction fees would be the safest option.

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Completely agree. The only time a debit card should be used is to withdraw cash from an ATM.

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…and you should keep the card locked except for the amount of time needed to make the withdrawal…..

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I think most people (as in me) will not be locking and unlocking our debit card between getting cash at an ATM…

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As someone who never uses a debit card for purchasing, this isn’t really an inconvenience. I withdraw money from an ATM about 3-4 times per year. I believe Clark also recommends keeping your ATM card locked. Using the mobile app….it takes about 5 seconds to lock/unlock.

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I use the Fidelity Rewards Credit card, which has no foreign fees and gives 2% Cashback, even on international transactions. And I carry the Fidelity Debit Card tiled to my Fidelity Cash Management Account, (which I keep locked via my phone) for use at ATMs and the occasional train kiosk that needs a Chip-and-PIN Card. It reimburses all ATM fees when I want cash, and has no foreign transaction fees. Note that not all Fidelity Brokerage accounts offer the ATM fee reimbursement but the Cash Management Account does, regardless of balance. And it has the added advantage of functioning like a checking account, but also paying about 3.4% in interest. BE VERY AWARE of the new scam of retailers asking you to clear your transactions in dollars - that will come with about a 10% currency conversion fee. ALWAYS choose to clear in the local currency (Euros if you are in Europe.) Retailers are getting more aggressive of trying to trick you into choosing dollars as soon as they hear your American accent, Finally, another card I carry when I am in sketchier areas is the Betterment Debit card. It also has no Foreign Transaction Fees and will reimburse ATM fees. I will take it as my only card, leaving my other cards in the hotel safe, if I am going to bars and I load only a few hundred on it. That way if I get mugged or held hostage or subject to some bar scam, all they can get is the few hundred on that card and they don’t even know that I have a Fidelity brokerage account.