Tuesday 13 November 2018

Things you must know before buying a forex card

Are you a travel bug and are always on the go? Planning for abroad usually involves finding the best airline tickets, cheap hotel bookings and places to visit and see. However, you must also give utmost importance to thinking about how to carry money for your trip abroad.

When you are travelling abroad, foreign exchange rates are the first thing to notice. Plastic money like international debit or credit cards are quite popular among travellers, but they have few drawbacks as well. Hence, you must buy a forex card which is the most and inexpensive way to carry money abroad.

Know the forex card benefits:

• Allows you to carry multiple foreign currencies
• Universally accepted mode of payment
• Cheaper than using credits cards abroad
• Better exchange rates than currency

A forex card is a prepaid travel card that allows users to load single foreign currency or multiple currencies. Much like other financial products, forex card also comes with a set of terms and conditions. Here are a few points to remember while travelling with the forex card.

1)  Understand the fees and charges:
Before buying your forex card consider inquiring about the fees and charges associated with the card. These charges may include:
• Card issuance fee
• Balance Enquiry Charges
• Replacement Card Fee
• Statement Request Charges
• Cross Currency Mark-up Charges
• International SMS Alert Charges
• Charge Slip Retrieval Charges
• Inactivity Fees

2) Swipe in the same currency as loaded:
When you are swiping your multi-currency travel card at a store, make sure that the payment is made in the same money format as you have loaded. For example, if you have loaded your card with Euro currency but the payment is made in Indian Rupee, then you will incur significant cross-currency charges.

3) Safety:
International fraud in cards is a known issue. Cloning of cards is the biggest threat for forex cards while travelling. Hence, it is essential to keep your card safe from such activities. Make sure you do not hand over your card to anyone else for swiping. Before you buy the forex cards, compare and choose a card with the safest facilities.

4) Check your insurance on forex card:
Like credit cards, most forex cards also offer some insurance cover. There can be insurance protection for you against personal accident, loss of checked baggage at the airport and against credit card fraud. You must confirm these insurance plans your bank about what type of insurance cover is being offered on your card.

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