Planning your holiday abroad or even traveling for a business trip can be a bit overwhelming. There are many things that you need to sort out before you depart in order to make sure that your stay in the host country is not hampered by small things. You may have to source a Visa, getting vaccinated if its mandatory, stockpiling some medicine, checking for travel warnings, making hotel reservations, train ticket confirmations or getting all the necessary gear for your electronics.
In all this, it’s easy to forget one crucial part of the puzzle – and that is money. You are not always going to travel to destinations where your local currency is part of the multi-currency system, hence you need to do all the necessary foreign exchange calculations beforehand so that you do not run out of funds during your trip. For your convenience, here are some tips to consider before you travel abroad.
Travelling and Paying with Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are on the path of overtaking conventional currencies when it comes to international transactions. Some of the properties of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum make them easier and profitable to transact in. Firstly, they offer relatively lower transaction costs, and this is particularly true when it comes to litecoin, as transaction fees on litecoin are a lot lower than bitcoin making it perfect for the cost-conscious. Moreover, transactions are lightning fast, no matter where you are or when you transact, it reflects instantly. This is important for those who are not looking to stay at a specific place for a long time and who do not want to be held up for long hours just waiting for a transaction to process.
Apart from this, there are many who do not want to make their trips publicly known to family and friends. Using traditional forms of payment does not go down well as the financial records can be easily retrieved in many cases. However, opting to use cryptocurrencies gives you the anonymity that you seek as no personal information is linked to your transactions or purchases.
Going Abroad with Local Currency
For those who have not fully embraced the digital currency age or who are skeptical can still opt to use their local currency. However, it’s important that you keep the following in mind.
When traveling abroad, there are three major currencies that you ought to have at least one of in order to make your journey smooth: the Euro, British Pound and the American Dollar. It’s advisable to change your currency to any of these three before traveling.
Of the three currencies mentioned, the American Dollar is arguably most important currency to have. This is because it works in virtually every country in the world if you cannot transact with it in retail shops and the likes, then the odds are you can easily change the currency at the local banks or bureau de change stores.
The British Pound and the EUR are also good currencies to travel with, but may be difficult to handle in certain corners of the world. Not many people use the British Pound or the EUR in Africa, thus if you look to change them into local currencies you may not find success. Additionally, in countries facing liquidity challenges, it is quite challenging to change your money in banks as you may encounter huge queues.
