The 5 Travel Money Apps I Use on Every Trip

Most “best travel apps” lists give you 30 options and let you figure it out. This isn’t that.

I’ve been travelling and working abroad regularly since 2023 — Bali, Bangkok, Tokyo, KL, Taipei, plus most of Europe. Over that time I’ve tested most of the apps people recommend for Australians abroad and kept the five that actually pull their weight. The others are dead apps on my home screen.

What’s below is the setup I use, why each app earns its spot, and roughly what you save versus the default Australian approach (Big Four card + airport SIM + Cover-More policy). Everything’s verified against current product pages as of May 2026 — including the Up Bank Grow rate, which moved to 5.35% p.a. after the RBA’s May hike.

Where Australians lose money abroad

If you use a typical Big Four debit/credit card overseas, you’ll pay roughly 3% FX on every transaction, plus a $5 fee per ATM withdrawal. On a $5,000 two-week trip that’s $150–$200 in fees, most of it invisible in the line items.

(Some Australian banks already do 0% FX — Macquarie’s transaction account, ING with conditions, NAB Platinum debit. If you’re already on one of these for travel, you don’t strictly need Up. But Up’s app is better, and the savings story below assumes the more common Big Four setup.)

The other expensive defaults: $30–$60 airport SIM cards (an eSIM is $4–$15), bank international transfers with 2–4% hidden in the exchange rate (Wise charges 0.4–1% with the real rate), and traditional travel insurance paid upfront for fixed dates that don’t match how trips actually go.

The fixes below total around 30 minutes of setup and save somewhere between $200 (short trip) and $1,000+ (multi-month trip) depending on what you spend.

1. Up Bank — daily spending

The foundation. If you do one thing on this list, do this.

Up Bank charges 0% on international card transactions and doesn’t take a cut on ATM withdrawals (the ATM operator may still charge their own fee, which is unavoidable on any card). The card runs on Mastercard, accepted basically everywhere outside a few Visa-only edge cases.

The reason it beats other 0%-FX banks in Australia is the app:

• Real-time notifications showing both the foreign amount and the AUD conversion the moment you tap. You know the actual cost in real money instantly.
• Up to 50 Savers (named sub-accounts) — “Thailand food,” “Japan transport,” “Emergency cash.” 5.35% Grow rate on the ones you don’t touch all month, 2.00% Flow on the ones you do.
• Instant card freeze/unfreeze from the app if you lose the card.
• No travel notification required. Just go.
• Instant digital card via Apple/Google Pay the moment you’re approved. Useful if you’re flying soon and don’t have time for a physical card to arrive.

Up operates under Bendigo Bank’s licence (AFSL 237879). Your deposits are covered by the Financial Claims Scheme up to $250,000, same as the big four.

Use the invite link below for a $21 bonus once you complete signup and ID verification — no card-spend hurdle.

Open Up Bank + $21 →

For the full product breakdown, see my Up Bank review.

2. Wise — international transfers

Different job to Up. You’ll want both.

Up handles card spending; Wise handles money movement. They’re not competitors.

The thing most Australians don’t realise about bank international transfers: the visible fee ($22 at CommBank) is a distraction. The real cost is buried in the exchange rate, which is typically 2–4% worse than the actual mid-market rate. On a $5,000 transfer, that’s another $100–$200 you never see itemised.

Wise uses the true mid-market rate — the same number you see on Google — and charges a small explicit fee on top (usually 0.4–1.5% depending on the currency pair). Everything is shown upfront before you confirm. Sending $3,000 AUD to a Thai bank account costs about $18 with Wise, versus ~$110–$130 all-in with a major Australian bank.

Use Wise when: sending money overseas (rent, family, your own foreign account), receiving foreign currency (freelance work, online sales), paying invoices in non-AUD, or holding multiple currencies until the rate moves your way. The multi-currency account also gives you local bank details in USD, EUR, GBP and others — useful if you’re getting paid by overseas clients.

Skip Wise for: everyday card spending abroad. Up is better there because there’s no top-up step.

Your first transfer over $300 is fee-free.

Sign up to Wise →

For Wise vs Revolut vs Up specifically, see my three-way comparison.

3. Saily eSIM — mobile data abroad

Any decent eSIM beats the airport SIM kiosk. This is the one I keep going back to.

An eSIM is a digital SIM you install from an app. No physical card, no swapping trays, no queueing at an airport kiosk after a 9-hour flight. Buy it before you fly, activate it the moment you land.

Plans start around $4 for short trips and small data allowances. A regional plan covering all of Southeast Asia or all of Europe is typically $12–$30 depending on length and data, which compares to $30–$60 for a single-country airport SIM.

I use Saily over the other eSIM apps (Airalo, Holafly) because it’s owned by Nord Security — same company as NordVPN, established and unlikely to disappear — and the app is genuinely cleaner than the alternatives. Coverage is comparable across providers; the main difference is pricing and UX, both of which Saily does well.

What you actually save: on a three-country Asia trip (Thailand → Vietnam → Japan), three airport SIMs run about $95. A Saily Asia regional plan covers the trip for $12–$25. Roughly $70–$80 saved per multi-country trip, plus 30+ minutes per country not standing at an airport kiosk.

One caveat: your phone needs to support eSIMs. iPhone XS (2018) and newer support it, as do most Android flagships from the last few years. Older phones still need physical SIMs.

Get Saily eSIM →

4. NordVPN — for access, more than security

The real reason to have one isn’t what most articles say.

Most VPN articles lead with “public WiFi is dangerous.” In 2026 that’s overstated — almost every site uses HTTPS, which already encrypts traffic between you and the site. The cafe WiFi snooper can’t actually read your banking password the way they could in 2015.

The reason I actually use NordVPN abroad is different: access.

• Australian banking apps sometimes flag or block logins from foreign IPs. Connect to a Sydney server, look like you’re at home.
• Streaming services (Stan, ABC iView, BBC iPlayer, etc.) restrict by region. VPN gets you back to the library you actually pay for.
• Some countries block specific sites. China blocks Google, WhatsApp, Instagram. UAE blocks WhatsApp calls. A VPN is mandatory for normal internet life in those countries.
• Some hotel WiFi blocks weird stuff like Slack or Discord. VPN routes around it.

Security on public WiFi is a real but secondary benefit. The bigger reasons are the practical ones above.

I use NordVPN specifically because it’s consistently the fastest in independent speed tests, works in restrictive countries (some VPNs are blocked by China’s firewall), and one subscription covers 10 devices. The 2-year plan works out around $5/month and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee — useful if you only need it for one trip.

Get NordVPN →

5. SafetyWing — flexible travel insurance

Not always the best option. When it is, nothing else comes close.

Traditional travel insurance assumes you know your departure and return dates. Cover-More, Allianz, World Nomads — you buy a policy for fixed dates, no refund if you come home early, full new policy if you extend.

SafetyWing works like a Netflix subscription. ~$45/month for under-40s (up to $250,000 medical coverage), cancel anytime. Stay a month, stay two years, doesn’t matter — you pay for what you use.

SafetyWing is best for:

• Open-ended trips (no fixed return date)
• Long-term travellers (3+ months — traditional quotes get expensive fast)
• Digital nomads who don’t know where they’ll be next month
• Anyone already overseas who realised too late they need cover. SafetyWing is one of the few policies you can buy while travelling — most traditional Aussie insurers require purchase before departure.

SafetyWing is not the right pick for:

• Short fixed trips (1–2 weeks) — a one-off Cover-More or Allianz policy may be cheaper and have stronger cancellation cover.
• Trips with expensive flights/tours you’d lose if cancelled — SafetyWing’s trip cancellation cover is limited.
• Adventure sports — check the PDS for activity exclusions before assuming you’re covered.

For a 6-month worldwide trip, SafetyWing comes in around $270 versus $500–$900 for a comparable Cover-More policy. The savings are real for long trips. For a 10-day Bali holiday, just buy a normal one-off policy and skip this.

Check SafetyWing →

Two bonus apps worth knowing about

The five above cover everything most travellers need. These two are situationally useful:

How the kit actually fits together

A typical trip, in order:

Pre-flight checklist

Do this 5–7 days before departure (so the Up physical card arrives in time — though the digital card via Apple/Google Pay works instantly).

FAQ

Do I really need all five?

No. Up and Saily are the highest-ROI pair. Wise is useful only if you actually transfer money or hold foreign currencies. NordVPN is essential in China/UAE and useful elsewhere. SafetyWing is best for long trips — short trips do fine with a one-off policy.

I’m only going for two weeks. Is this overkill?

Up Bank and Saily alone cover the main pain points for a short trip — fee-free spending and instant data on arrival. Skip SafetyWing for a one-off Cover-More policy, skip NordVPN unless you’re going somewhere with content restrictions, skip Wise unless you need to transfer money.

What about Macquarie / ING / NAB Platinum — they also do 0% FX?

Yes, and if you’re already on one of those for travel, you don’t strictly need Up. Up wins on app quality and on the savings rate (5.35% Grow), but the FX story is comparable. Macquarie in particular is a strong alternative.

Up vs Wise vs Revolut — what’s the actual difference?

Up is a bank account with an Australian debit card — best for card spending. Wise is a money-movement service — best for international transfers and receiving foreign payments. Revolut is a multi-currency wallet — best for holding 30+ currencies in one app. Most travellers want Up + Wise. Add Revolut only if multi-currency holding is genuinely useful to you.

Will Up work in China?

Card payments work where international cards are accepted, but most local Chinese spending now goes through WeChat Pay and Alipay, which are increasingly tourist-friendly but still require setup. NordVPN is mandatory in China to access Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western sites. Saily works there. SafetyWing covers China.

My phone is too old for eSIM. Now what?

Buy a local physical SIM at a convenience store or carrier shop after you land — they’re usually cheaper than airport kiosks. Avoid Australian roaming on Telstra/Optus/Vodafone unless your trip is short, since it adds up fast.

Can I sign up for these from overseas?

Up, Wise, and Revolut all need Australian ID and ideally an Australian address — easier from home. Saily and NordVPN work from anywhere. SafetyWing is unusual in that you can buy it after you’ve already left.