Cash and travellers cheques are being left in their wake and credit cards are lagging behind as Aussie jetsetters turn to prepaid travel money cards to pay for their overseas purchases1.

Access Prepaid’s Director of Global Sales and Strategic Relationships, Graham Perry said overseas spending on prepaid cards had jumped by almost a quarter (22.2 per cent) in just one year alone, between 2010 and 20112.

“That’s because there’s never been a safer, easier or more cost effective way of taking money abroad,” Mr Perry said.

“The new Multi-currency Cash Passport, for example, is the first in Australia to offer no international ATM and point of sale transaction fees and that’s a big plus for the hip pocket of Aussie travellers.”

Spending via travellers’ cheques plummeted by almost a third (29.7 per cent), cash dropped by 3.6 per cent, credit card spending rose by only 1.5 per cent and debit cards increased by 23.5 per cent between 2010 and 20113.

“On the international travel scene, paper currency in the form of travellers’ cheques and cash will be all but dead within five years,” predicted Mr Perry. “The next generation of Australian travellers are turning to debit and prepaid cards in droves.

“But what we’ll see over the next few years is an even greater spike in the use of prepaid cards as jetsetters realise they offer the combined convenience of cash and a card, and a raft of free extras debit cards just can’t compete with,” said Mr Perry.

Access Prepaid’s Cash Passport offers the support of 24/7 Global Emergency Assistance.

“To avoid high fees, the Cash Passport’s always a better bet.  Its fee-free ATM access overseas* means spending money isn’t eroded by fees if travellers do decide to give it a workout at ATMs whilst abroad,” Mr Perry said.

The Multi-currency Cash Passport can be loaded with up to seven different currencies: USD; GBP; EUR; SGD; NZD; HKD; and AUD.  With smart wallet functionality, a shortage of funds in the relevant local currency will see the card use funds from another currency to complete transactions. 

“Cash Passport travellers move about the globe with confidence, knowing how much they have to spend because they’ve already locked in their exchange rate and they avoid the fluctuating exchange rates users of credit and ATM cards can’t escape,” said Mr Perry.

The Cash Passport is accepted at over 32 million merchants and ATMs globally and online.