Travel is something many of us love and find ourselves doing. One of the things that comes with international travel is the need for money, specifically the foreign currency that is legal tender in the destination country. Depending on the destination, you may be able to get away with almost exclusively using a card to transact. In other destinations, it’ll be a mix of cash and card and in others, it’ll almost exclusively be cash (which is not the safest option but sometimes there is no choice).
In the interconnected world that we live in, it is easy enough to manage finances whilst overseas. But, there is a monster waiting to eat up all your hard-earned money, foreign currency fees.
For the most part, your day-to-day debit and/or credit cards may seem like a convenient and easy option when travelling. But, as already mentioned, the banks will be ready and waiting and more than happy to charge transaction fees, exchange rate markups and ATM withdrawal fees, just to name a few. All of these added up can amount to a lot.
A couple of ways to get more bang for your buck and keep costs at bay are to get some cash or get and load up a travel money card before you head off on your travels.
Buying foreign currency cash in New Zealand
Buying foreign currency in NZ is a relatively simple and straightforward process. Foreign cash can be purchased either online via service providers such as No1currency, money changers (bureau de change) which you can find in malls or other obscure locations and banks (do note that some banks no longer provide foreign exchange cash transactions; If they do provide foreign cash services, this in some instances is only available to their customers).
Providers such as Travelex have branches in various locations around the country and the major international airports. If you land on Travelex as your go-to for FX, an airport branch may seem like a convenient last-minute option but you will not get the best rate. A Travelex representative at an Auckland mall confirmed that the Auckland Airport outlets were more expensive.
Below is how much USD$250 would have cost you on 25 October 2023.
Reserve Bank New Zealand dollar (NZD) exchange rate compared to United States Dollar 25 October 2023 – 0.58585
 |  | |
| USD$250 (as at 25 October 2023) | Rate: 0.5614 NZD$445.32 | Rate: 0.5686 *NZD$439.68 |
| Fees | Yes ($7 Delivery fee) | Yes (1.8% surcharge for debit or credit card orders) |
*if paying via debit or credit card, 1.8% of the total order amount. Your card issuer may charge a separate cash advance fee or international transaction fee.
Tip: If ordering online, opt for a bank transfer or an option like POLi to save. Debit or credit cards may attract an extra fee.
Travel money cards
A travel money card as the name suggests is a card onto which you can load a range of currencies. With the currency of your travel destination loaded on the card, you can spend that money like a local and not have to worry too much about fees. Using travel money cards when travelling has a number of benefits compared to debit or credit cards (that you use day to day in NZ) and cash (it’s easier to lose cash and once it’s gone, it’s gone!).
Some of the benefits include but aren’t limited to:
Cost-effective currency conversion
Many travel money card providers offer rates that are quite competitive and use rates that are close to the interbank rate (or mid-market rate as some call it) (the interbank rate is the rate at which banks trade currencies with each other). When it comes to consumers, banks will charge a margin on the rate hence the varying rate between financial institutions. This is something to keep in mind whenever you see a service that offers 0% commission or fees.
Low fees
Range from zero fees to very low fees on transactions which include but aren’t limited to loading funds onto the card and converting between currencies. ATM withdrawals are free in some instances or may be free up to a certain limit and or fixed number of transactions per month after which fees are applied. See the table below for a comparison of features and fees on travel money cards available to Kiwi travellers.
Budget control
Saving enough money to spend spend when you travel is one thing, sticking to budget is another. Travel money cards are prepaid so your spend is limited to what is on the card. With that in mind, you may be a bit more inclined to be mindful of spend.
Security
Travel money cards are not connected to your main bank account meaning that if the card is lost or gets stolen, your accounts are safe. Most of them will come with an app where you can quickly and easily block and replace the card. And, moving around with and using a card for transactions is a better option than having a few hundred dollars in cash.
There are a range of card options for Kiwis to choose from. Below is a comparison table of some of the travel money cards available to Kiwi travellers. Namely, Wise International Debit Card, Travelex Money Card, Westpac Global Currency Card, Cash Passport and Air New Zealand’s OneSmart card.
Dollar $ amounts are in NZD unless otherwise specified.
| Provider Features/Fees This information is correct as at 25 October 2023 |  | |  |  |  |
| Rate $1NZD To USD | 0.5844 | 0.5691 | 0.5644 | 0.5630 | 0.5627 |
| Number of currencies | 40 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| Payment network | Visa | Mastercard | Mastercard | Mastercard | Mastercard |
| New card issuance fee | $14 | 1.0% of initial load/reload amount or $10 | Free | Free | |
| Currency conversion fee | Variable: From 0.43% | Mastercard rate plus 4.00% | Mastercard rate plus 2.95% | 5.95% | 2.5% |
| Bank transfer load fee | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Debit card load fee (% of amount loaded) | 1.48% | 1.5% | 0.5% | 1.5% | |
| International ATM withdrawal fee (some ATM operators may charge fees independently) | Free (2 or less withdrawals – Less than $350 per month – 1.75% of the amount over $350) $1.5 per withdrawal (3 or more withdrawals per month – $1.5 + 1.75% of amount over $350) | Free | Free | Dependent on country: AUD3.50, EUR2.20, USD2.50, GBP2.00, JPY300, CAD3.50, HKD20.00, SGD3.50, AED 9 (or $3.5 in countries not mentioned above) | Dependent on country: 3 Free per month then: $3.00, GBP1.50, AUD2.50, HKD20.00, CAD2.50, JPY250, EUR2.00, SGD3.00, USD2.50 |
| Domestic ATM withdrawal fee | Free | 2.95% | $4 | $4 | $2 |
| Monthly fee | $0 | $4 Inactivity fee | $0 | $0 | $1 |
| Card closure (cash out) fee | Free | $10 | Free | Free | Free |
| Receive money internationally/Number of International Bank Account Number (IBAN) | Yes 9 currencies | No | No | No | No |
| Transfer money internationally | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Wise – the best travel money card for Kiwis
Having used a couple of the cards above, Wise is the best option for travellers. It not only functions as a card that allows users to spend around the world, users can also transfer internationally and receive money from abroad. Without going into too much detail, some of its features include but aren’t limited to:
Open a Wise account
- Quick and easy account setup
- Favourable rates and fees
- Hold money in 40+ currencies
- Fee transparency
- Easy loading options
- Bank transfer (From experience, this has taken 2 to 4 hours)
- POLi
- Debit/Credit card
- Apple Pay/Google Pay
- Contactless payment and chip & pin transactions
- Worldwide ATM withdrawals
- Ability to transfer internationally (not available with other providers)
- Ability to receive money from abroad (not available with other providers)
- You can receive money via local bank transfer or by SWIFT from certain countries in some instances in the following currencies: AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, NZD, MYR, PLN, SGD, USD, RON, HUF, TRY
- Easy account management via app or online
- No minimum transfer amount
As with all travel, it pays to be organised and planned out before you depart. With foreign currency, you might as well get that out of the way as soon as you book your travel. It’s never too early to have that all sorted, it’s one less thing to worry about. Even if a planned trip gets cancelled, if it is on a travel money card, you can hold it in your Wise account until you need it.
At the end of the day, it is up to you which service you choose to use. Make sure it is trusted, safe & secure, isn’t going to cost you an arm and leg to transact and is easy to use and manage whilst on your travels.
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