MasterCard’s subsidiary, Access Prepaid Worldwide, in collaboration with First National Bank (FNB) introduced the MasterCard Multi-currency Cash PassportTM to customers, promising a safer and more convenient alternative to foreign currency notes when travelling.
The Chip and PIN protected travel payment card is secure and easy to use and can be loaded with up to four currencies (Euros, Pound Sterling, US Dollars and Australian Dollars) on a single card.
The Multi-currency Cash Passport can be loaded before departure, and while travelling, with any one or all of the four available currencies.
The cardholder can then use the card globally to pay for goods and services at millions of merchant locations or withdraw cash from ATMs wherever the MasterCard Acceptance Mark is displayed.
“We chose the MasterCard Multi-currency Cash Passport as the best way to address the needs of our travelling customers who can now load four different currencies in one card,” said Vicky Ratshefola, CEO of FNB Forex.
“The MasterCard Multi-Currency Cash Passport is Chip and PIN enabled, which significantly improves our clients’ travel experience by giving them one secure, simple and effective way to pay anywhere in the world” she said.
MasterCard said in a statement on Thursday that using the Multi-currency Cash Passport means travellers lock-in the exchange rate for each currency so they can better plan what they have to spend.
If travellers use all of their funds on the MasterCard Multi-currency Cash Passport while abroad, they can easily reload their card with more currency telephonically during South African business hours.
“The enhancement of being able to reload currencies while abroad is a key advantage for travellers. It adds an additional level of convenience and flexibility, and ensures they never run out of funds while travelling,” said Rajeev Kumar, regional director for Middle East and Africa, Access Prepaid Worldwide. “What’s more, because the card is valid for up to five years and can be reloaded easily, it can be used for multiple trips so that it becomes an essential travel companion.”
An important feature of the MasterCard Multi-currency Cash Passport is its ability to move between available currencies if there are insufficient funds available in the chosen payment currency.
If the cardholder does not have the currency of the country they are visiting loaded on their card, they can still use it to make a payment.
The Multi-currency Cash Passport will automatically convert the local currency of the purchase to one of the other currencies loaded onto the card.