Ireland is the first market in which the debit card has been made available to consumers and businesses at the same time.

From today anyone will be able to get a free account with instant local bank details for the UK, US, Australia and Europe as if they lived there, as well as a debit card for stress-free spending abroad.

For anyone travelling, living, working or running their business between two countries, the borderless account means they can manage their money more cheaply and easily than ever before. Customers can hold money in up to 45 currencies and convert between them at the real exchange rate with no mark-ups, paying just a small upfront fee. People can also receive money in multiple currencies with zero fees attached.

New independent research, commissioned by TransferWise, compared spending and sending money abroad from the borderless account and Mastercard with three Irish high street banks. The findings reveal that the banks are leaving consumers out of pocket by adding an additional fee in a poor exchange rate.

For example, a customer who withdraws €200 cash in US dollars could be hit with a charge of more than €13 just for using their bank debit card abroad.

Kristo Käärmann, CEO and co-founder, TransferWise said: “It’s great to bring this much needed service to Ireland. Our Irish customers have some of the most pressing use cases for the borderless account - many of whom are commuting between Ireland and London for work, who have family in other countries, or who are being paid in multiple currencies by international firms. For the first time these people will be able to get bank details all over the world for free.

“Multi-country banking has been the domain of big businesses and the rich for far too long. Banks charge sky high monthly fees for banking services in multiple currencies, and then mark-up the exchange rate on every transaction. With the borderless account people and businesses can send, spend and receive money with the real exchange rate and know exactly what the transaction is costing upfront.

“We’re on a mission to make the benefits of international banking available to everyone, no matter what their bank balance.”

Customers can sign up to the borderless account and order their debit card here. The borderless account is available to customers around the world. The TransferWise Mastercard debit card was rolled out in April 2018 in the UK and some European markets, and is now available to anyone living in Ireland.

Since its initial launch, over two million transactions have been made on TransferWise debit cards and over €2 billion has been taken in deposits.