Chocolate Finance Visa card review - Is it good for overseas use?

Chocolate Finance¹ offers savings accounts with a linked Chocolate Finance Visa debit card² for spending at home and abroad, to many customers in Singapore. You can spend globally with your Chocolate Visa card with no foreign transaction fee. Using a no foreign transaction fee card when you’re abroad can help you save money on currency conversion, and keep down the costs of your travel.

This Chocolate Visa card review explores the features and benefits of the Chocolate Finance Visa debit card and compares them against the low cost international debit card from Wise so you can decide which suits your needs best.

What is Chocolate Finance?

Chocolate Finance is a Singapore based provider that offers interest earning savings accounts in SGD and USD, which come with a linked Chocolate Visa card you can use for international spending. There’s no foreign transaction fee when you use your Chocolate card, and you can also earn rewards to redeem on air miles and travel spending with Hey Max.

Chocolate Finance was set up by the founder of Singlife insurance, and aims to make it easy to earn interest and spend globally. Chocolate is regulated in Singapore by MAS, and has in-built card security features such as ways to instantly freeze and unfreeze your card if you ever misplace it.

There are a couple of Chocolate Visa card restrictions you’ll want to know about if you’re considering getting it, which we’ll explore in this guide. Importantly, you can’t open an account unless you’re a Singapore resident, and products are not available to US persons. It’s also helpful to note that Chocolate Visa cards can’t be used in an ATM. More on that later.

What is Wise?

Wise is a global provider of international account and card services, for personal and business customers. With a Wise multi-currency account, you can hold and exchange 40+ currencies at mid-market rate. You can also get a linked Wise debit card for use when spending and in ATMs, to make paying for things as you travel convenient and secure.

Wise was founded in the UK in 2011, and is regulated in Singapore by MAS. Wise uses industry level security features, such as ways to freeze and unfreeze the Wise card in the app, and instant transaction alerts so you can always track your money.

Wise can be a perfect partner for travel spending, and also offers broader functionality, such as ways to send payments to 140+ countries with low fees from 0.26%, and local and SWIFT account details to get paid by others in many global currencies.

Chocolate Visa card vs Wise - Main features

Let’s kick off with a head to head comparison of the Chocolate Visa card against Wise.

Here’s an overview of the features of the Chocolate Card vs Wise - and we’ve got more on the costs of each service coming up right after.

*Details correct at time of writing - 21st April 2025

Fees and charges

As we’ve seen, both Chocolate and Wise could be a good pick for travel card spending - but what about their respective costs? Here’s a comparison looking at the Chocolate Card vs Wise on fees and limits:

*Details correct at time of writing - 21st April 2025

Exchange rate

Understanding the exchange rate of the Chocolate card vs Wise can help you choose which might work best for your travel spending.

With the Chocolate card, you can hold a balance in either SGD or USD, but you’ll always need to add money in SGD. To convert your funds in your account balance to USD, there’s a weekday fee of around 0.25%, or a weekend charge of about 0.5%. You can spend your Chocolate account balance with your Visa card all over the world. If you’re spending a currency you don’t hold in your account, the card will convert your balance at the point of payment using the Chocolate exchange rate. Chocolate states that it offers some of the best available rates on the market - but to see if any charges are included here, you’ll need to check the live rate on the Chocolate app before you transact.

Wise works a bit differently. You can hold money in 40+ currencies with Wise, and top up in SGD or your preferred currency. If you’d like to, you can convert your balance to the currency you need for travel spending in advance, to lock in the exchange rate. You can also simply leave your balance in Wise in SGD and the card can convert for you when you spend. In both cases, you get the mid-market rate with no foreign transaction fee, and low conversion fee from 0.26%, which you can see in the Wise app before you spend.

Using the Chocolate card overseas

You’ll need to set up a Chocolate Finance account, and add a balance in SGD, to get your Chocolate Visa card. You can then use a digital card instantly for online and mobile payments, and order a physical card for delivery. You can’t use your Chocolate card in an ATM, but you can add it to Google Pay or Apple Pay for mobile spending at home and abroad.

Here’s how to activate and top up a Chocolate account, to order your card for spending:

1. Download the Chocolate Finance app
2. Sign up using your personal and contact information
3. Verify your identity using Singpass MyInfo
4. Add money to your account using eGIRO, bank FAST transfer or PayNow QR
5. Swipe right on your balance to see the Chocolate card, and tap to activate
6. You’ll see your digital card right away, and can order a physical card for delivery in 5-10 business days

Your Chocolate Visa card can be used wherever you see the Visa network logo for spending in person and online.

Is the Chocolate Finance visa card right for you?

Not sure which is right for you? Here’s a summary of the pros and cons of the Chocolate Visa card and Wise to help you decide:

Weigh up your options carefully before you order the Chocolate Visa card. While every decision is different, the Chocolate card might suit people who only need to spend online and in person, with no ATM use available. Chocolate does have some limits to consider too - for example, you can’t receive payments from others, and you can’t hold a balance in any currency other than USD and SGD. Generally this might mean that Chocolate is better suited to savers in these currencies.

If you're looking for flexibility, Wise offers a comprehensive international account that allows you to send, hold, receive, and exchange over 40+ currencies. You can exchange currencies at your desired rate, helping you plan your trip with no surprises. Alternatively, rely on the mid-market rate, known as the fairest rate, to usually offer the best value for your money, and spend in over 150+ countries. Plus, with your Wise card, enjoy free ATM withdrawals every month, making it easier and cheaper to get cash while you're away from home.

💳 Get your Wise card today