Travelex's Supercard lets Brits spend money abroad without fees
Once available via a pilot, the payment card is now open to all.
Back in April 2015, foreign exchange company Travelex attempted to change the way Britons spend money abroad with the launch of the Supercard. Operating as a pre-paid Visa card that didn't need topping up, the prototype allowed a limited number users to connect up to five debit or credit cards and pay for items without incurring a exchange fee from their bank.
Users travelled the world during the pilot, spending over £1 million in distant lands before it closed on June 7th. After a brief period of downtime, Travelex has returned with a new version of its payment card, which is now available to everyone in the UK from today.
The new Supercard is essentially the same as the old Supercard, but with one big difference. Travelex has swapped providers, choosing Mastercard to set its exchange rate. The reason for this, Travelex says, is that the Mastercard rate was better 82.5 percent of the time than Visa's offering across 45 currencies.
It still means there are no application, registration or payment fees and you'll be able to monitor your spending via the companion apps, which are available on both iOS and Android. You can also register your new Supercard via these apps, which is then sent via post. As soon as it arrives, add your existing debit and credit cards and you're ready for fee-free spending abroad.
To make some money, Travelex does impose a 3 percent charge on ATM withdrawals made abroad. Also, if you use it in the UK, you will be charged £1 plus one percent of the transaction value. The Supercard is designed to be used abroad, so this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
