Opportunity magazine is a niche business-to-business publication that explores various investment opportunities within Southern Africa’s economic sectors and looks to provide its readers with first-hand knowledge about South African business. Opportunity also looks to present South African business to international markets that may have interests in investing in South Africa. The publication is endorsed by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
TOURISM FIVE ADVANTAGES
TOURISM FIVE ADVANTAGES OF AN INTERNATIONAL DEBIT CARD International travel is likely to make a comeback in 2022, even if it’s only for the vaccinated. Standard Bank’s Erik Olwagen outlines the benefits of having a card with one of the world’s biggest currencies loaded on it. While traditional debit cards are extremely useful for daily purchases and banking, they typically cannot be used outside of their country of origin. This is a big problem for ttravellers who may during their trip need to make purchases or even withdraw funds in a foreign country. “If you are travelling overseas for business or pleasure, or buying something from abroad, you want to make purchases in the currency of that country,” says Erik Olwagen, Head: SA Distribution for International Personal Banking at Standard Bank. “There are always unknown fees involved like forex spreads or admin fees when making a payment in a currency that differs to your account base currency.” Standard Bank’s Optimum Account is designed to support everyday transactional banking requirements. Clients can manage finances across borders, make payments and receive money from around the world. The benefits of an Optimum Account include full service of the day-to-day banking, digital and seamless banking, and one can choose the main currency: USD, pound sterling or Australian dollar. An analysis by Standard Bank shows that these currencies make up around 80% of all foreign transactions conducted by clients while the other 20% is made up of a mix of about 50 different currencies. Olwagen says that “customers are increasingly realising the benefits of international debit cards not only for spending while travelling but for investment purposes, to make international transfers or online purchases that can be done easily from their mobile app or Internet banking platforms”. Protection against currency volatility “Let’s say you travel to Europe and make payments in euros with your South African card. If the rand happens to depreciate, you will be paying more for your purchases and it becomes easy to lose track of what things cost,” Olwagen says. Instead, clients can opt to purchase those euros ahead of time at a set exchange rate and spend in euros with their debit card. It then becomes easier to convert to the original cost of your purchase, because you know that you paid X amount for that euro, instead of trying to figure out and worrying about how much that glass of wine or sparkling water is going to cost you. Managing a budget During the planning stage of an overseas trip, there will inevitably be things that you need to pay for ahead of time like accommodation or inbound travel. In the first scenario, you may use your SA cards to make these purchases but there may be excessive fees involved that can impact your overall budget. 52 | www.opportunityonline.co.za
TOURISM The card is enabled for tap and go, which is becoming an increasingly popular feature, and means you can go to a bank, tap for cash, receive it over the counter and continue with your trip. The tap functionality is not enabled in all countries and retailers, so in some instances you may still need to insert or swipe your card and input your pin depending on the amount being spent or the device being utilised. In that case, Visa Debit Card transaction fees apply. There are some other limitations, such as the amount you can spend on any given day and cash withdrawals being limited to three per day. These limitations, which can be increased temporarily to suit your spending needs, have largely been put in place to protect the consumer from fraudulent activity. “If your card is stolen, you can alert us immediately and we will go out of our way to have a replacement card delivered to wherever you are in the world,” Olwagen says. He adds that a good way of de-risking yourself is by having more than one card stored in different places. Credit: Lagos Techie on Unsplash Movements in the exchange rate could also work against your budget. The Airbnb that you may be looking at today could go up in price in the days to follow should the rand depreciate. Rather, you can purchase 000 now and deposit that into your international bank account, and use those dollars to pay for car rental, any internal flights, tours, or travel with your dollar debit card. Quick and easy international transfers There are multiple uses for the international debit card. Olwagen notes that many clients from across the continent with children who are enrolled in international schools or universities will make use of an international debit card to settle fees. Another benefit is to pay for expenses associated with running a buy-to-let investment property held abroad. He adds that it makes sense for those who plan to emigrate to start externalising funds in the currency of the country in which they plan to reside. “So, if you are going to move to Italy, start purchasing those euros now because you're going to have to spend in euros when making a deposit on an apartment or house, or to purchase a car. You do not want to use your rands to cover those expenses.” Withdraw hard currency abroad Another benefit of an international debit card is the ability to withdraw cash from any of the 1.4-million ATMs in more than 200 countries that display the Visa mark. International subscriptions As the world becomes smaller thanks to increased connectivity, South Africans can access a range of services from abroad like Amazon Prime or subscriptions to international publications like the New York Times. Olwagen says that many people may not realise that they will be charged for those subscriptions in USD. This means that the bank will apply a foreign transaction fee that you may not be aware of. The volatility of the rand may also impact the price of that subscription and fees. In the online gaming world, almost everything is dollar based and some clients will create a USD debit card to make those purchases. This can be a risky environment where fraudsters like to hang around, and so it might be worth creating a virtual card via Standard Bank online banking or using platforms like PayPal where your card details are hidden. Olwagen advises “to always remain vigilant and to avoid storing or writing down your pin. Rather make use of the functionality on the Standard Bank Mobile App that will display your pin for a few seconds, disappearing thereafter. And remember, the bank will never ask for your card details. If someone is asking, it is likely to be a scam”. Always protect yourself against fraud scams when using your cards. To better equip yourself against the dangers, read through descriptions of the common scams and fraud tactics which can be found at www. international.standardbank.com ABOUT STANDARD BANK The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (“Standard Bank’’) is an authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP number 11287) and registered credit provider (NCRCP15). The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (Reg. No. 1962/000738/06). Standard Bank Isle of Man Limited is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority. Standard Bank House, One Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1SB. Registered in the Isle of Man No. 4713C. www.opportunityonline.co.za | 53
