Currency Cards

Currency Cards are designed for overseas spending by travellers. They are small plastic cards which can be loaded with a foreign currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate and used to make purchases from shops or withdrawals from ATM machines whilst abroad. They operate in a similar fashion to prepaid gift cards or phone cards, allowing the user to spend only up to the amount you have loaded onto the card. Unlike credit or debit cards one cannot overspend on a prepaid card.
Issuers
These cards are issued by Visa, Mastercard and Maestro and are available in Euros (EUR), US Dollars (USD), Pounds sterling (GBP), Australian Dollars (AUD), New Zealand Dollars (NZD), Canadian Dollars (CAD) and South African Rand (ZAR).
Currency cards are be loaded with funds at an agreed exchange rate either via phone, text, online or by visiting a provider. A 4 digit pin code for the card provides authentication.
Benefits
These cards offer an alternative way of carrying large amounts of money whilst travelling overseas. Identification when using the card is not required, unlike traveller’s cheques. If the card is lost or stolen a thief would only have access to the funds on the card, even if the loss is not reported ad the card stopped. The currency on the card is at a fixed exchange rate so exchange rate fluctuations will not affect the amount. One cannot accumulate debt on the card whilst traveling, unlike debt cards which allow overdraft. Prepaid currency cards are not credit scored.
Fees and Charges
Fees are typically charged for:
#Card purchase fee
#Purchase transaction fee
#ATM cash withdrawal fee
#Secondary card
#Card replacement
#Debit card refund

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