Travel: Card vs Cash - You Need To Know This!

As you know we LOVE to travel, at home and abroad and in recent years we have noticed a real change in how we spend money, have you?

When we started travelling together we would dutifully convert cash into local currency ahead of time and on occasion we would take the odd traveler cheque - remember them? However we took money we had to have a rough idea of how much we wanted to spend ahead of time or accept horrible conversion rates when abroad.

Image thanks to: www.travel-holiday.net

We noticed a real shift in how we spent foreign currency a few years ago when we realised more and more countries we visited had cash points that offered fair exchange rates so it involved less trekking around to find 'a good deal'. It also meant we could be less prepared with how much we could spend.

In the last couple of years it has got even easier to spend abroad with UK banks reducing or eliminating fees when you use your card abroad. It has meant that we have traveled with minimal cash - a safety benefit in itself. I remember filling underwear with cash I didn't want to carry around then burying it in a 'safe' space in a hotel room.

Then last year we were told about an app and card Monzo that allows you to track your spending and easily transfer money between your UK bank account and your Monzo account - and back again. There are no fees when you are spending abroad and the exchange rate is the same as Mastercards. You can also withdraw cash if you want. You can use it as your regular bank account if you wish too. It's worth checking out if you don't like carrying cash.

On the subject of cash vs card WeSwap recently conducted a survey to find the most popular countries in Europe for cash vs card payments and the findings were interesting:

Original map found here

Our experience agrees with this. When we visited Norway we were surprised that even street sellers had a way of paying then by card. Buskers, street vendors, market stalls etc all provided account details so the 'I don't carry cash' excuse never worked but it also meant it was super easy to spend.

We didn't notice is so much in Paris but it is interesting it is deemed more card friendly thank the UK and I would say we are very card friendly.

The WeSwap stats were:

• Sweden tops the list as the most popular holiday destination for card – 81% of holidaymakers prefer to use card
• Nordic countries make up the top-three holiday destinations for card use
• Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Montenegro were the least card-friendly European countries

Interestingly Sweden, like Norway, are moving to being a cashless society - if you are planning on visiting the Nordic area it's worth being aware that in Sweden some shops are even putting up signs saying 'no cash'. 

As an alternative to Monzo it is worth checking out WeSwap: 

WeSwap is the People’s Currency Exchange. We’re striving to remove all the stress, hassle and smoke and mirrors normally associated with currency exchange, for as low cost to our community as possible. WeSwap matches travelers up and swaps their currencies directly, avoiding the costly fees imposed by other services. Having just won Best Travel Money Provider 2018, WeSwap’s people-powered platform helps travelers get the best rates of exchange – by way of a transparent 1-2% fee on the mid-market rate – along with a suite of tools to help travellers budget better and be more financially savvy when traveling. WeSwap stats from 2017 show people saved significant amounts by using the platform vs exchanging at notorious exchange hot-spots such as the airport. WeSwap provides users with a WeSwap Mastercard that can be used to load or spend local currency, withdraw cash or order before jetting off.

If you are heading outside of Europe WeSwap has more detailed card vs cash findings on their post here, that includes Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, South Africa and more. For example did you know the USA is 71% in favour of card?!

Have you come across any other Apps / currency exchange services worth mentioning?

Happy Traveling!