Travel just came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic but people have started to move around. As soon as things become better, people will definitely take the international trips that they had planned before the pandemic happened and put all the holds on a hold for a while. It is important to know the way you carry money when you travel overseas as we have quite some time before you do that again.
In this article, we talk about the forex card which can solve a lot of your pain points when you travel abroad. We will also try to explain to you what exactly forex is, how does it work and what are the major advantages of having a forex card in a foreign land.
When you travel overseas, a forex card is the easiest way of holding foreign currency to pay for expenses. Forex card is like a prepaid card in a foreign currency that you can load with a predetermined amount. So, you can swipe the card to pay for your bills while you are travelling abroad, rather than just carrying cash along. It is safer and certainly a better way of keeping foreign currency with you.
A cheaper alternative to currency conversion is to buy a forex card from a bank or use online services to buy it from online forex & remittance marketplaces. You can save up on a lot of bank charges by buying a forex card from these online money transfer platforms and you get special features & cashback as well.
It really is somewhat like a debit card. Users can withdraw cash from an ATM with your forex card as well.
Understanding Forex Cards
A forex card is similar to a prepaid card i.e Debit card. A forex card gives you the luxury to fill funds in a foreign currency. It is accepted internationally, so you can either use your forex card to pay for your bills or withdraw money at an Automated teller machine (ATM) in foreign currency.
Types of forex cards
Forex cards are primarily divided into two groups. One of the types of forex cards is single currency cards and another one is multi-currency cards. Now let’s understand both types of these forex cards.
A single currency Forex card is one in which you can load a single currency with a specific foreign currency. When you are travelling to a specific country or more importantly if you are visiting just one country, you can use that country’s currency to load this card.
Multi-currency forex cards are the type of cards which you can pre-load the wallet with various currencies, as the title indicates. You can check the different types of currencies that you can load in the multi-currency forex card with your bank.
Major advantages of a forex card
When you are planning to travel overseas, a forex card will act as your true saviour. There are some advantages to keeping a forex card over flying with bundles of money or searching for currency conversion shops.
- You will most probably get a better rate of conversion with a forex card.
- A variety of forex cards are provided by most banks that can fit your needs. To be able to buy a forex card, you do not actually need an established account with the bank.
- When you buy a forex card, you will benefit from several sales, offers and discounts provided by most banks.
- There is nothing better and safer than a forex card. The forex cards possess a chip and pin technology. This creates another form of security which gives you a sense of safety and much-needed relief. In addition, in case if you lose your forex card, to prevent any abuse of the card, you can get your card hot listed in no time.
- When you have arrived back home from travelling, if your forex card has a remaining balance, you have the option to encash the sum at the current exchange rates. You also get the option to get your card blocked before your next visit abroad to prevent the maintenance charges.
How do forex card functions?
The forex cards are accepted globally and are a cheaper & safer alternative to holding cash. You must now be wondering how do a forex card functions?
As we told you above that it works almost like a debit card that you use in your daily life. You have to first give your application for the card. Once it gets accepted, you get the card with a pin just like a debit card. You can now modify the pin. To load the card with your desired amount and currency, you can use an online forex & remittance platform to load or unload the currency whenever you feel like.
When you are in a foreign country, you can just swipe the forex card that you have whenever you have to pay for any of your expenses be it buying clothes or having dinner at a place. You will get the SMS and also notified via email of your transaction and the remaining balance which is the case when you do that with your normal debit or credit cards.