Travelex is offering a multi-currency chip and PIN card in the United States for people who want to travel abroad. The LA Times Travel Editor points out in a review of the card that even though magnetic strip cards are supposed to work everywhere, there is still a chance that they won’t be accepted by all foreign merchants:
The card represents another option for travelers to those countries that use the currencies above. Why not simply use your U.S.-issued credit card? Although the magnetic-stripe cards are supposed to be accepted widely, readers have told me that they have encountered opposition from some merchants and that they often could not use their mag-stripe card in an unmanned kiosk at, for example, a train station. That mirrored my experience last year in London, where the previous version of the Travelex preloaded card came in handy.
According to the article Travelex is considering adding additional currencies to the card, which means that the potential user base grows. This is critical in an industry where profitability relies so heavily on volume.
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