How To Be Prudent While Carrying Money To A Foreign Trip?

This is the question that hangs around before you leave for your subsequent or first trip overseas. The answer is simple i.e. do a little homework first to get the maximum for your money abroad. Explore the internet and research. Equate rates and charges to buy and sell forex, features, and benefits of all the products on offer for your abroad trip. Formerly, traveler’s cheques were the most prevalent way to carry your money when wayfaring overseas. Since the arrival of the forex multi-currency prepaid card and its growing popularity, these cheques are no longer the desirable option. You have choices and the most significant thing is to know about these choices. Know the pros and cons of everything that is being offered. So the question is what is the superlative option for you? How can you sidestep paying inflated exchange rates and charges? The answer would be via using a multi-currency prepaid card. A multi-currency travel card works just like a regular debit card. You load a multi-currency forex card with the needed foreign currencies. Use the card overseas for swiping at shops, restaurants (essentially wherever there is a PoS terminal for swiping) or at ATMs for taking out money. The card would be smart chip-enabled. This means that when you use the card overseas, it will automatically spot which nation you are in and consequently use the conforming currency of that nation (which is pre-loaded on the card).

What is better, carrying cash or forex card?

Cash is voluntarily accepted everywhere as a method of payment. So it is better to use at places where card payment is not accepted or card payment services are not accessible. However, when purchasing foreign currency as cash, the exchange rate is always greater than doing the same via forex card. It is easier to load foreign exchange in forex cards and therefore to incentivize forex card usage they are offered at pronounced rates, lower than that of foreign currency. Also, forex cards are safer as they have a PIN and chip technology which warrants security of funds in the card even if the card itself is misplaced. A replica card with the funds unharmed can be activated when the chief forex card is lost. It is better to carry a blend of cash and forex card i.e. 60–70% foreign currencies in forex card and rest 30% in cash.