For January jetsetters a HSBC-backed global currency conversion app has launched where you can spend, send and convert money.
The Zing app and debit card can hold up to 10 currencies and can be used in more than 200 countries. You can also send money internationally across more than 30 currencies.
Here, Which? explains how Zing works, how it compares to similar providers such as Wise and Revolut, and the four ways to spend smart on your next holiday.
What does Zing offer?
Zing is a free multi-currency app designed for UK residents with ‘international money needs’.
You can spend, transfer and receive money, as well as convert it into different currencies. Zing claims to offer transparent fees and competitive rates. It also offers 24/7 customer support with ‘real humans’.
Multi-currency account
You can hold money in 10 different wallets and spend it in more than 200 countries.
A wallet is a section of your account that holds a particular currency. You can hold up to £40,000 (or currency equivalent) per wallet.
You can add £10-£5,000 to your account in a single transaction, up to three times a day in one day, or up to 15 times or £50,000 in one month – whichever happens first.
If you want to convert a currency, Zing will use its third-party exchange rate. The conversion fee ranges from 0.60-0.75% depending on the currency.
You’ll also receive a free multi-currency card to make card payments.
You can withdraw money from an ATM using your Zing card, but you only get one free withdrawal per calendar month outside the UK.
All withdrawals made after this, including UK withdrawals, are charged at £2 each. The daily withdrawal limit is £500.
- Find out more: best prepaid travel money cards 2024
Sending and receiving money
You can send money internationally across more than 30 currencies.
To make a transfer, you’ll be able to pay someone a new existing payee, and you’ll be able to select the currency.
The fees and rates will be displayed before you pay.
The time taken for a money transfer can vary depending on the currency and the intermediary banks involved.
- Find out more:using prepaid cards for spending abroad
How much does it cost to convert currencies?
Here are the 10 currencies you can hold in your wallet, and how much it costs to convert £100.
You can find out how much it will cost for different amounts using the Zing Currency Calculator on its website.
Tables notes: correct as of 10 January 2024. Currencies ordered alphabetically.
What’s in the small print?
You’ll need to be 18 and a UK resident to sign up to a Zing account.
Although Zing is part of the HSBC group, you don’t need to be an HSBC customer to sign up.
Is your money safe?
Zing is part of the global HSBC Group, however, it is not a bank it’s an e-money institution.
This means funds are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, but your money is ring-fenced in a separate bank account.
Zing’s website says if it goes out of business, members will receive most, if not all, of their money. However, there are risks that the process may take longer than through the FSCS and you may not receive full reimbursement.
- Find out more: FSCS: are my savings safe?
How does it compare?
Wise and Revolut are two prepaid card providers where you can exchange and hold money in an online account.
You can spend using a digital card in Apple Pay or Google Wallet, or spend and withdraw cash via a physical card (Wise charges £7 for its card).
HSBC also offers the Global Money account, which may be worth considering.
HSBC’s Global Money account is competitive and could save you money on holiday, but you’ll need to be an HSBC customer to use it.
Revolut and Wise allow you to hold a greater range of currencies than Zing and HSBC Global Money.
You’ll pay no fees to exchange with Revolut on weekdays, but there’s a 1% fee on weekends so you’ll need to be careful with timing. Also, it’s worth pointing out that on the basic free plan, you can only exchange £1,000 a month.
Wise charges between 0.43%, for pound to euro conversion (cheaper than Zing’s current rate), but can go up to 2.16% for rarer currencies such as the Uruguayan peso.
- Find out more:best banks and bank accounts in UK 2024
4 ways to spend smart on holiday
Use our advice to save on your next holiday.
Always pay in the local currency
When paying by card, always opt to pay in the local currency, and if you’ve not been given the choice, ask the retailer why not.
Paying in pounds will mean a local bank does the conversion – not necessarily at the best rate – and often adds a fee.
- Find out more:best debit cards to use abroad 2024
Don’t buy currency at the airport
The cheapest way to get foreign cash is to withdraw it at your destination using a fee-free debit card, but in many instances, you’ll need some cash to hand when you arrive, such as to pay for a taxi.
Compare bureaux de change online: moneysupermarket.co.uk is one of the larger comparison sites.
You’re usually best off ordering online – the larger the sum the better – than collecting in-store, to access better rates while avoiding delivery costs.
- Find out more: buying travel money online
Watch out for ATM fees
Don’t expect to find free ATMs abroad, but you can still use common sense to avoid high-cost ones. For example, ATMs at airports are likely to charge a fee but ATMs at local bank branches probably won’t.
As fees are often a flat figure, it makes sense to withdraw all the holiday cash you think you’ll need at once.
Credit cards for car hire
Many car hire companies won’t accept debit cards or prepaid cards for holding funds until you return the vehicle.
While you could use a regular credit card for pre-authorisation – which shouldn’t by itself trigger a fee – using a travel credit card means that, should anything go wrong, you won’t have card charges adding insult to injury.
- Find out more: best travel credit cards 2024
