Best Places To Visit With a Contactless Visa Card
Tags: Forex, Currency Exchange, Foreign Exchange

Contactless payment is one of the most largely growing trends in finance all across the globe. While contactless payments are a norm in places like the UK, Canada and Japan, India is catching up with it at a steady pace. If you are planning a trip abroad to any of the places given in this list contactless travel cards can be a smart travel accessory to have.

What is a Contactless Travel Card?

A contactless travel card is a prepaid multi currency card that lets you pay with ease with just a tap. You don’t need to enter the PIN manually every time you transact in foreign currency while travelling abroad. Since a lot of POS terminals abroad only accept contactless payments, a forex card can be useful as it will act similar to a credit/debit card without any additional foreign exchange charges.

Where to purchase a contactless card from?

BookMyForex which is India’s first and the largest currency exchange marketplace provides BookMyForex Travel Card which comes with the contactless payment feature. The card has zero issuance fee and minimal ATM currency withdrawal charges across the category. You can load multiple currencies on the same card and also unlike other cards such as a debit or credit card, there are no hidden currency conversion charges involved.

Here is a list of places that will let you make the optimal use of your contactless travel card:

1. Canada: Canada is one of the leading countries when it comes to contactless payments. The year 2018 saw a 97.2 % increase in payments through these methods as compared to 2016. Most of the merchants and POS terminals have the ‘tap and pay’ feature making a contactless travel card worthy while travelling to Canada.

2. Sweden: Expected to become the first cashless society by 2023, Sweden is on a fast track with regards to contactless payments. Following suit are its Nordic neighbours. Cash accounts for less than 1% of payments in Sweden. Merchants, local shops and even small vendor carts in Sweden have tap and pay facilities for not just locals but tourists alike. It is not just practical but a smart move to carry a contactless travel card when visiting Sweden.

3. South Korea: South Korea is an emerging tourist destination. It has a lot to offer with its tradition, culture, amazing food and a fast paced landscape. South Korea is also one of the fast paced economies largely moving forward with the contactless payment culture with lots of emerging payment apps and cards for food, transportation and shopping. Carrying a contactless travel card can be of great help when traveling to South Korea.

4.Australia: According to Global Data, a leading data and analytics company the number of contactless cards might increase from 59.6 million in 2019 to 68.9 million in 2023. A majority of POS terminals in Australia, including those of transportation facilities have contactless payment facilities. Australia is also a leading destination for Indian tourists making it one of the top places to visit with a contactless travel card.

5. United Kingdom: Contactless cards played a pivotal role for card payments to overtake cash in the UK in 2018. London, a famous travel destination, became a hotspot for contactless payments especially after its introduction in the pay as you go option in London’s transportation — ‘tube’. Ever since then contactless payments have been on a rise with retailers, famous food chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s and transport mediums.If you are planning a trip to UK carrying a contactless travel card is a must.

6. Singapore: A major tourist hotspot, Singapore is on a fast track when it comes to contactless payments. The Singapore Land Transport Authority has recently introduced Visa cards to its contactless transit payments initiative. A contactless travel card also works the same way for transportation in Singapore as any other debit or credit card. Besides transport facilities, various merchants and vendors also have contactless POS terminals making a contactless travel card extremely useful while visiting Singapore.