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The FairFX Currency Card

13 April 2009, 11:11

Have you ever felt that it can be quite expensive to buy anything abroad?

When it comes to spending money overseas, you don't have too many options available to you. You can use good old cash of course, but it's not the safest thing to carry around with you in bulk. Debit and credit cards can both result in extra charges being levied on every single transaction you make. And while Traveller's Cheques are useful, they can be time consuming to cash in - and then you are stuck with cash that can be stolen again.

But now there is another product that rolls the best parts of all of these items into one - and it's called the FairFX Currency Card.

Okay, so what exactly is a currency card?

At first glance it looks exactly like a standard MasterCard. It has got the MasterCard logo and it also has a sixteen digit number across the centre of the card itself.

So what makes it so different?

Well, unlike a normal MasterCard which is actually a credit card, this currency card is a prepaid card. What this means is that you buy the foreign currency you need before you go away, and it is put onto the card for you.

So let's say you are heading off to America and you want to take $500 in US dollars with you. No problem - all you do is buy your currency as per usual from the website (at http://www.fairfx.com/), and you request it to be put onto a card instead of being sent to you as currency.

You can then use your card in any shop, restaurant or other outlet that displays the MasterCard sign - and there are thousands of them to choose from.

What are the benefits of the currency card?

The main benefit is the convenience of it. It works in exactly the same way as any regular debit card, but you won't be penalised or charged for making any kind of purchase at all. And you won't be able to spend more than you have on the card either, so if you are on a budget while travelling you will find it particularly useful.

You will also find that the rates offered on the card are extremely competitive. It can provide you with a much cheaper option than simply buying currency on its own.

It is also very secure, since it operates in the same way as any other card. When you receive your card you will get a pin number to use with it as well (sent separately), which means that the usual chip and pin process applies to this card.

And if you should be unlucky enough to lose it or have it stolen, you can call the company to get it cancelled straightaway.

What currencies can I load onto the card?

At the moment the two most popular currencies are available to buy - and that's US dollars and Euros. This means that the currency card is suitable for use in many different countries, and there will be more options added as the card becomes better established. At the time of writing it is still a new entity.

What happens once I have got my currency card? Can I use it in future too?

Yes you can - and that is one of the biggest benefits of the card itself. If you take a look at the home page of the site you'll see that there is a drop down box which allows you to select the service you want. If you click on that arrow you'll see that you can top up your existing card.

So once you have your card you can carry on using it for as long as you want to. All you need to do when your balance on the card gets low is to top it up again, which can easily be done online. The company is also going to make it possible to top up via a text message in future, so it will soon be even easier to do it.

Is this the future of taking currency abroad?

It certainly seems as if it is. Although it is still early days for the currency card, the wealth of benefits it offers make it a sure bet to become more popular as time goes by.

And for those people who don't have a credit card to take with them on holiday, and don't like the charges that can be applied to debit card purchases, the currency card is the ideal alternative.

 

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