Demand strong for multi-currency cards, foreign currencies, as holiday fever rages

UNDETERRED by rising inflation and sky-high airline ticket prices, leisure travellers have taken to the skies with a vengeance – but not without making ample preparations for their foreign currency expenditure needs.

Highlighting an uptick in card orders in recent months, multi-currency card provider Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, observed a 60 per cent increase in per-user transactions for the period from late April to May 2022 versus pre-Covid levels in February 2020.

“This shows us that Singapore users are becoming more comfortable with contactless and digital payment methods when travelling abroad, as well as the rise in travel around the world picking up again,” Surendra Chaplot, Wise’s global head of product (cards and Wise platform), told The Business Times (BT).