Planning a big trip is almost as much fun as the trip itself – but there are parts of the planning that I don’t enjoy at all: trip insurance, health insurance and money management. For money management, I want a straight-forward and cost effective way to access funds so that I’m not caught by surprise later at what my purchases actually cost me. I’m also mindful that I have to have a plan B and plan C in case I lose my wallet or my card doesn’t work for some reason. It’s no good being in paradise if I can’t use my money to pay for anything.
Every method of accessing my funds overseas has drawbacks. I don’t want to carry a lot of cash for security reasons. Similarly, I worry about the liability inherent in exposing my core credit and debit cards in unfamiliar places. And international ATM withdrawals have hefty fees and mysterious exchange rates. It has to be easier than this. And no, travellers cheques aren’t the answer – no-one under 60 knows what they are.
This is where the Cash Passport prepaid card comes in. The newly released card is a collaboration between Payment Source and MasterCard, and I’m privileged to be one of the first to travel with it. I just came back from a few weeks in Australia where I used the Cash Passport as my primary payment method, and the feedback is all positive.
First, the purchase of the card is quick and simple. I visited a Post Office, provided name and address and my driver’s license, answered some simple questions and the card was mine. Loading funds was also easy – I picked the currencies and amounts and the clerk told me the total to pay in Canadian dollars. The total time was five minutes and I walked out with my fully loaded card.
Second, I like the idea that the funds loaded on the card represented money I had set aside for the trip, so it acted like a prepaid card but with the additional functionality of converting currency when the funds were loaded. Every time I made a purchase, I knew with certainty what I was paying and that I wouldn’t be surprised by additional fees later. It was also helpful for budgeting, as I was easily able to track the transactions and see the remaining balance.
Third, just about every credit purchase in Australia now uses tap or paypass as the Aussies generically call it. No signatures and rarely a requirement to enter a PIN, so it's great that the Cash Passport supports this. Payments were typically extremely slick and fast.
Lastly, one of the other great benefits of the Cash Passport is that if you want it, you get a second card that works identically, although with a different PIN, free only with your original purchase. Great for flexibility and peace of mind while travelling.
The Cash Passport officially launched as of February 15th,. If you’re interested in learning more about the many benefits and functionalities of this card, take a look at the official launch announcement. Or just go to a Canada Post Office near you and pick one up. Don’t forget to get the second card.