Apple Pay and Google Pay Abroad: Charges Explained

Paying with your phone abroad costs exactly what paying with the same card costs. If the card charges a foreign-transaction fee or converts at a markup, the phone payment carries the same charge. A card with low fees abroad keeps phone payments cheap too.

Example: a purchase worth USD 100 in another currency on a Crypto.com Visa Midnight card (US, as of 26 Sep 2026) carries a 3% fee, USD 3, whether you tap the card or the phone. With N26 the same payment has no N26 fee (EU plans, as of 26 Sep 2026).

If your card holds several currencies, pay from a balance in the local currency to avoid a conversion. With Revolut Standard (UK, as of 26 Sep 2026), convert weekend money on a weekday, because a 1% weekend fee applies where it is in force.

Some terminals show two amounts before you tap: one in the local currency and one in your card’s currency. The second is dynamic currency conversion (DCC): the shop’s payment provider converts at its own rate. Choose the local currency so your card converts.

Read the amount and currency on the screen before you hold the phone to the terminal. If the tap fails, check the app for a pending payment before you try again, so you do not pay twice.

Make the card with the lowest fees abroad your default, then make one small purchase and check which account was charged.

Look at Express Mode or transit settings separately. Apple describes Express Mode as an exception to normal authentication: supported transit payments can go through without Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode. Turn it on only for the card you want to use on public transport.

Hotels and car rental desks may ask to see the card for a deposit, and older terminals and ATMs may need the plastic card. Ask before you rely on the phone for a deposit.

Two cards in one wallet help when one card is declined, but both depend on the same phone. Keep a physical card from a second provider, ideally on the other network, and a little local cash, stored apart from the phone.

Apple Pay sends a Device Account Number and a one-time security code for each payment instead of your card number. Google uses a virtual number for eligible cards paid in shops. This keeps the card number away from the shop’s terminal.

Because of that, the last digits on a receipt can differ from the plastic card. Compare them with the card details in the wallet and the transaction in your banking app. For a deposit or a refund, ask the shop or hotel which card details it will need later.

Never give a caller a verification code and never approve a card-adding request you did not start. If the phone is lost or you see payments you do not recognize, follow Apple’s or Google’s lost-device steps and freeze the card with your issuer.