Since the EU removed mobile roaming charges in 2017, something we now take for granted, you can post an Instagram story from Nice, call home from Rome, or stream music in the Alps without any surprise fees. It just works. Effortlessly.

When it comes to money, the experience is often less straightforward. Using your bank card abroad usually involves fees and conditions that aren’t always clear or predictable.

The Part of Your Holiday Budget That’s Hard to Track

Ask anyone planning a summer trip: Flights? Sorted. Hotels? Booked. Meals? Carefully planned. But the fees for using a card abroad? That part often remains unclear.

Many banks apply a foreign currency markup. Up to 1.6 %*. It doesn’t seem like much. A few kronor here, a few kroner there. But it adds up. For a family spending on holiday, those small percentages can mean several hundred more than expected, showing up on your statement later.

Our recent YouGov surveys put real numbers on it. 41% of Swedes plan to travel this summer.  That means, in Sweden alone, travelers heading abroad this summer risk paying up to SEK 300 million in card and ATM fees. And about a third say that they don’t even know these fees exist.

Meanwhile, 74 % of Swedes say they find it unreasonable to pay these card fees when mobile data roaming within the EU is now free.

Even with higher prices for flights, hotels, and meals, a reality confirmed by the industry association REJS – Travel Industry Denmark, Danes aren’t letting that stop their summer plans. According to our Danish YouGov survey, nearly 2.4 million people expect to travel abroad this season. Altogether, Danes could face as much as DKK 235 million in extra fees over the summer.

Imagine how much of that could be saved if all those million travelers were given upfront, transparent pricing.

*Based on price lists from ten Swedish banks (May 2025). Fees may vary depending on card type and customer agreement. For exact terms, see the banks’ price lists.

Transparency Should Be the Standard

Today, mobile providers make it easy to understand what you’ll pay. Within the EU, it’s free. And when you travel outside the EU, you get a text as soon as you land with clear, upfront information about any charges. That level of clarity is now expected.

Banking hasn’t kept the same pace. The industry talks a lot about transparency, but the reality is often far more complicated. In Denmark alone, according to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, the average bank has over 500 different fees. Fine print or not, we understand it’s hard to keep track of or even make sense of it all. It’s not about the fee itself, it’s about knowing exactly what you’ll pay.

Why We Believe It Should Be Simpler

We’re not claiming banking should be free of costs. Handling foreign transactions has real expenses. We’re a bank too. We know. But those costs should be clear. Predictable. And easy to understand.

We try to do things differently. We’ve reduced the number of fees for private customers in Denmark to 29. And we offer plans with 0 %* FX markup and no withdrawal fees, inside and outside the EU.

Not everything can be free. But you have the right to know exactly what you’re paying for.

*Applies to users on Lunar Plus (SEK 79 / DKK 49 per month) and Unlimited (SEK 169 / DKK 99 per month) plans, where both foreign currency markups and withdrawal fees are removed. These plans have a fixed monthly cost.

Sources:

• EU-kommissionen – "Roam like at home" (införd 2017): Roam like at home: no roaming charges for travel in EU | Topics | European Parliament
• REJS – Travel Industry Denmark, May 2025.
• The YouGov survey in Sweden was conducted among more than 2,000 nationally representative Swedes in May 2025.
• The YouGov survey in Denmark was conducted among more than 1,000 nationally representative Danes in April 2025.

Please note that foreign financial institutions may charge a fee for cash withdrawals or apply a currency conversion fee for card transactions. This is not related to Lunar, and it is not something the bank profits from.