If you have a lot of trips planned abroad, it’s important to make sure your money is safe. With an international prepaid card on hand for each destination, you will never again overspend or wonder where your money goes. An international prepaid card also spares you from all the hassles of carrying cash with you anywhere you go.
International prepaid cards are an easy and convenient way to carry money abroad. International Prepaid Cards work just like general purpose prepaid cards, but they come with extra features that can make your life easier when travelling internationally.
International Prepaid Cards: Two Types
There are two kinds of international prepaid cards:
General Travel Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards are a great way to travel internationally without the hassle of dealing with currency conversions and exchanging different currencies. These prepaid general Travel Cards come loaded with features such as emergency cash replacement, chip-and PIN capability for transactions at ATMs overseas.
Not all prepaid cards come with a chip, but you will not be able to use them at automated payment points or unmanned kiosks. In many European countries like Switzerland and France there has been implementation for chips in credit card transactions which means that even if your country doesn’t offer the functionality yet it could still happen soon.
Multi-Currency Prepaid Cards
One of the best features about these cards is that you can load them up with money in specific currencies. This means they’ll be able to offer a locked-in exchange rate rather than paying what’s currently being offered or withdrawing from ATMs and POS systems which may show inaccurate rates (especially if there are some big movements).
In most cases, prepaid card issuers limit loading to a few currencies. Case in point is that many have only allowed for the ability to load 6 different types of money: Australian dollar Canadian dollar Mexican peso Japanese yen Euro and British pound sterling.
Unbeatable Benefits of International Prepaid Cards
One of the most delightful ways to travel is by using a prepaid card. Whether you’re going on vacation or just need some extra cash, these cards offer benefits that make travelling easy and affordable for everyone! For example:
It can help you with budgeting.
Prepaid cards can help you stay within your budget while travelling. You may feel happy and light during a vacation, making it easier to spend more than intended on the card since funds are available in advance at least for that period of time. With this option over credit cards people have complete control over their spending.
It can stand as a buffer for your other accounts.
When you’re thinking about travelling and security, don’t forget that prepaid cards are an easy way to avoid problems. As the name suggests, these types of payment devices work like cash when used in countries around the world.
Since international trips can be risky for your bank account as well as other personal information with online access (and let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy getting away from their phone?), using one could help keep things safe if anything goes wrong on vacation.
It helps protect you from fraud.
International prepaid cards are a great way to protect you from fraud. These cards offer protection that is almost as good, if not better than plastic credit or debit card holders in terms of preventing unauthorized transactions and possible loss due to fraudulent activity because they report any incidents within 2 business days.
Some international providers go above and beyond by providing zero liability which means even though their customer didn’t report an issue before charges appear on account, the accountability lies solely with them until notified otherwise.