Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Category:
Personal Finance Tips
A new pre-paid cash card is expected to be popular with gap-year students and business travellers, according to the Times.
The new cards, offered by a number of companies including American Express, ICE, Travelex and Western Union, allow up to £3,000 to be put on a card before setting off on your travels.
They can also be topped up remotely.
Their one big advantage over credit and debit cards is that the cost of using them at holes in the wall abroad are much lower.
The cards also appear to be far more convenient than queuing up in foreign banks with travellers' cheques and safer than carry around large amounts of cash.
It is likely that the move will result in more parents taking out loans to fund their children's excursions, as it is likely to prove a more cost-effective way of providing for their children's travels.
Paul Westerman, head of marketing at ICE, explained: "If your son is in Thailand and spends all his money on drink and a hotel, he can call home and his parents can reload the card. Within minutes he can take cash from a cash machine in Thailand."
