I didn't read about these problems. I lived them.

Hi — I'm Jason, and Tern is the bank I wish I'd had.

Over the years I've travelled to 45 countries and actually worked in four of them — including a working-holiday stint in Australia, time in Canada, and a spell in the US. I've stood in a bank queue with a hostel address they wouldn't accept. I've started a job and waited weeks for my first pay because I couldn't hand my employer the right account details. I've watched a transfer from home land a chunk lighter, and I've fed $5 to an ATM more times than I'd like to admit.

None of that came from a pitch deck. It's my actual receipts.

The thing is, I also spend my working life in fintech — building the money infrastructure that makes all of this trivial the moment someone bothers to design for you. Working holiday makers change countries, change jobs, get paid across borders and send money home constantly — and yet most banks still treat us like a tourist who'll be gone in a fortnight.

So I'm building Tern: the account I needed at the start, standing outside a bank that had just turned me away.

Everything on this site comes from a wall I personally hit. The local account that's ready before you land. Topping up from home at the real rate. Swapping currency with the person flying the other way instead of paying a percentage to a bank. No ATM fees — because I've paid enough of them for all of us.

If you're about to do your own working holiday: I've got you.