Forex is mainly responsible for the allotment of each currency's foreign exchange rates in respect to each other around the globe. Thus, most individuals travelling to overseas nations are recommended to bring a Forex card along.
When you travel overseas, a forex card is the easiest way of holding foreign currency to pay for expenses. Forex card is like a prepaid card in a foreign currency that you can load with a pre-determined amount. So, you can swipe the card to pay for your bills while you are travelling abroad, rather than just carrying cash along. It is safer and certainly a better way of keeping foreign currency with you.
It really is somewhat like a debit card. Users can withdraw cash from an ATM with your forex card as well. In this article, we talk about the forex card hidden charges that you might not be aware about till now and charges that you can avoid when you are travelling overseas.
A cheaper alternative to currency conversion is to buy a forex card from a bank or use online service to buy it from online forex & remittance marketplaces. You can save up on a lot of bank charges by buying a forex card from these online money transfer platforms and you get special features & cashbacks as well.
As simple as it might look, when you use a Forex card in foreign land, there are many hidden charges for Forex that play an important role. These charges for Forex cards are not obvious to the consumer and when they get multiplied over the period of your overseas trip, they can turn out to be very shocking. It is also likely that you would not have reviewed the guide or documents supplied with the Forex card much of the time and then you might point fingers at the ones who issued the card. It is also very likely that half-truths can also be made by the ones who are responsible for issuing the forex card.
Here is the list of some hidden charges that you might incur while swiping your forex card overseas:
- Charges for withdrawing the cash from ATM: You have to pay a hidden fee when you choose to borrow cash from an ATM machine in a different country with your Forex card.
- Markup fee on cross currency transactions: If you are in a position where you'll have to do a foreign currency transaction with your Forex card, then you'd be able to complete the transaction, however a cross-currency markup fee will also be applied.
- Forex card activation charges: Sometimes, while you are buying a Forex card, when the card is getting delivered, a preliminary payment has to be made.
- Charges when you reload your forex card: A minor Forex card fee may be applied while reloading the card, notably when you are reloading the forex card while you are in a foreign land.
- Charges for loss/misplacement of forex card and application for a replacement card: You will have to get it replaced in case you have lost the forex card. Irrespective of whether you have it substituted in your native country or a foreign nation, you would have to pay additional hidden foreign exchange fee.
- Charges on doing a balance enquiry: Sometimes, to help plan your budget, you would need to monitor the balance amount on your card when going overseas. You are free to check your balance of forex card at any ATM service, however, a service charge roughly similar to 0.5 US Dollars will be applied even for a basic balance enquiry.
- Charges on taking a transaction slip: You will also have the choice to even get a transaction slip when getting money from the Forex card on the ATM machine. If you want to print a withdrawal receipt, you should be aware that a secret fee would be imposed on your card for doing just that.
- You can use online service for buying a forex card from online forex & remittance marketplaces. A lot of these platforms charge absolutely zero for issuing a forex card unlike banks. Also, when you reload or unload your forex card, some of the platforms let you do that for free which is great and can save you on tons of charges. You get some other extra amazing features alongside these as well, so it’d be a wise choice to go with the online money transfer platforms.
- Charges/Fine on card being inactive for a certain period: After you have purchased, loaded and used the forex card, if you do not use it for 180 days then it comes under the inactive category. The inactivity fine will have to be paid by the user.
- Charges on receiving the transaction alerts via SMS: It's always a bonus to have an SMS warning connected to your banking transaction. Although in the situation of a Forex card, any time a transaction is performed using the card, a monthly charge is deducted for availing this particular service.
