Travelex Supercard

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  • LesD
    LesD Posts: 2,111 Forumite
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    Just a quick reply to say thanks to everyone for your comments.

    Like most of you, I've been looking for the catch. Travelex don't have a good reputation for the sharpest currency deals around so it worries me somewhat.

    I'll also be interested (excuse the pun) to see if any transactions trigger an interest charge at the source card - as with Clarity ATM withdrawals.

    But I would assume the trick is to link this to a debit card which means the cash goes out immediately. We'll have to see, of course, how a particular card is chosen for the transaction.

    I'll also want to watch out for DCC (Direct Currency Conversion) issues - am still finding that a pain.

    Keep the comments coming and we'll see what more info we get when they mail the details out.
  • DTDfanBoy
    DTDfanBoy Posts: 1,704 Forumite
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    Thanks for posting about it LesD :)

    If these do what they say on the tin I'll be getting one to use in conjunction with my Clarity card, it should save me a few ££ on the interest I pay on cash withdrawals each year :beer:
  • LesD
    LesD Posts: 2,111 Forumite
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    DTDfanBoy wrote: »
    Thanks for posting about it LesD :)

    If these do what they say on the tin I'll be getting one to use in conjunction with my Clarity card, it should save me a few ££ on the interest I pay on cash withdrawals each year :beer:

    I think I'm actually looking for it to REPLACE my Clarity. I only use that for cash (ATMs) and pay in to offset any interest charges.

    My Nationwide credit card is used for all other purchases. Might keep the Clarity around for any 'Mastercard' deals I suppose.
  • Petetobin
    Petetobin Posts: 31 Forumite
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    There are a couple of things which people haven't discussed..

    How do they back to back this with your credit/debit card? They can't do this in a single authorisation flow so there is likely to be some financial risk for them.

    Cash transactions have reverse interchange, ie the issuer (Travelex), pays the Acquirer who pays the bank for use of the ATM. Travelex would have to submit these using a cash MCC to avoid losing money on every transaction.

    For Lloyds, RBS etc this is a wider customer play but Travelex need to make really money on this product and given that they charge for UK transactions, I am convinced this is an FX play despite what they say.
  • callum9999
    callum9999 Posts: 4,392 Forumite
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    eDicky wrote: »
    My bet was also on them charging something for the card and probably a monthly fee thereafter.

    But I just called Travelex (020 8538 5500) and the agent told me that the card is free and no monthly fees, and the only possible cost is a charge by the foreign ATM operator. When I asked how Travelex could possibly make any money from it, he said he didn't know offhand but it could possibly be a commission from Visa for promoting them over MasterCard.

    Thinking about it, this last may be true, because if it is really what it seems it could take off and revolutionise the card industry for overseas travel.

    Yeah, there's definitely no fee now - I meant in the future.

    I can see Visa slashing their charges, but not actually paying a commission. In which case I still don't see how it could be profitable - even ignoring the staff/admin costs. If I link it to my Clarity for example (not that I would), then Travelex is going to have to pay a fee to Mastercard and to Halifax - are their Visa savings really going to cover that?
  • zerog
    zerog Posts: 2,478 Forumite
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    I wonder if you will be able to link a non-UK card, and thereby use it to speculate on the daily movements of 3 currencies (as well as the actions of Visa's forex traders)!!

    Maybe Moneycorp will launch a similar product and we can link 5 cards in a row.
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,588 Forumite
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    callum9999 wrote: »
    Yeah, there's definitely no fee now - I meant in the future

    The Travelex agent on the phone was talking about the future, ie when they actually roll out the card. He seemed to know all about it, but he did say he couldn't be absolutely sure...
    Evolution, not revolution
  • eDicky
    eDicky Posts: 6,588 Forumite
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    callum9999 wrote: »

    The only thing I can think of is they'll have some sort of monthly subscription that they aren't including at the start to build momentum.

    Now I see what you mean by future. Maybe they can't change the rules later on so easily for the first people who get their cards by signing up / pre-order now.

    Anyway, as you say, the future will tell...
    Evolution, not revolution
  • fifeken
    fifeken Posts: 2,702 Forumite
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    adindas wrote: »
    Where is here saying that they are using "VISA GLOBAL exchange rate"

    Is there such a thing as a Visa Global Exchange Rate?

    I understood there was Visa Europe (calculator here: http://www.visaeurope.com/making-payments/exchange-rates )

    and Visa USA (calculator here: http://usa.visa.com/personal/card-benefits/travel/exchange-rate-calculator.jsp )
  • Petetobin
    Petetobin Posts: 31 Forumite
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    There are standard rates which card schemes use and normally the issuer adds in a markup. However, an Issuer can apply their own rates if they wish as they also see the original currency amount.
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