International Prepaid Cards: What are the Two Types?

Staying within your budget while traveling overseas can be difficult, but with an international prepaid card, you’re ensured protection. A lot of people avoid taking cash just because they don’t want their wallet cluttered or have to worry about theft along the way.

As a frequent traveler, you know the importance of staying within your budget and making sure that money is safe. You can easily achieve both objectives by taking an international prepaid card with you on every trip.

With an international prepaid card, you can get the most out of your trip. Prepaid cards come with extra features that are designed to make life easier and more convenient when travelling internationally so it’s worth checking them out.

There are a lot of benefits to using international prepaid cards. Not only do they come with all the same features as your regular, general purpose card but also extra perks like no foreign transaction fees and low interest rates so you can save money while travelling overseas.

Two Types of International Prepaid Cards

There are two types of prepaid cards:

General Travel Prepaid Cards

These cards are more or less the same as local prepaid cards, but they come with features that make them handy for traveling abroad. For instance, they provide emergency cash replacement and chip/PIN technology in case you need funds. It also allows for international ATM use so you can get back up on your feet asap.

A chip is not always required but it can be an issue. In many European countries, they have had chip functionality for ages now so you’ll likely encounter problems when using a prepaid card without the option of inserting your pin code at automated payment points or unmanned kiosks.

Multi-Currency Prepaid Cards

For those who travel often, this card will be your best friend. It has a feature that allows you to lock in the exchange rate so when making purchases or withdrawing money from an ATM, it’s not as scary because you know what the conversion rate will be beforehand.

The most common denominations that can be loaded onto an international prepaid card for now include Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Mexican Pesos(MXN) Japanese Yen(JPY), Euro (EUR) and British Pound. Prepaid cards are perfect for travelers who love the idea of not having to carry around loads of cash.

Peerless Benefits of International Prepaid Cards

There are many exciting advantages to using your international prepaid card when traveling. The most remarkable ones include:

It can help you budget your money.

Adhering to your budget while travelling can be a challenge. You’ll likely feel light and happy when you travel so it’s easy for the cash flow situation to get out-of-hand pretty quickly.

The only thing more frustrating than not having enough money on your card is making a large purchase and discovering that it’s declined because you don’t have any funds left. Fortunately, with prepaid cards there are limits to how much can be spent.

This allows for better control of spending habits as opposed to using credit where the balance seems infinite (at least until all those pesky late fees kick in).

It can be used as a buffer.

If you’re not very comfortable about using your credit or debit card on the trip, taking an international prepaid card with you can be one of the best options. Prepaid cards don’t require any personal information so they offer peace of mind knowing your transactions will remain anonymous unless necessary.

When you’re in a foreign country, it can be hard to keep your money safe. That’s where prepaid cards come into play. These are like credit or debit cards but they don’t have any personal information on them so the shady character won’t get access when using one of these outside their home country.