If you travel a lot, you will need access to online payment options that work almost everywhere across the globe. Whether it’s because you want to shop online, pay for your Netflix subscription or one of the million other things on the web, you will need a reliable provider.
Here are the best ones available universally.
Credit/Debit Cards
The classic approach would be to use a credit or debit card issued by some of the leading companies out there. The likes of VISA, Maestro, and MasterCard are probably the best among them. They work with most banks across the globe and are accepted the vast majority of the online retailers, services, and pretty much any business that works with customers.
If you are going to buy stuff or deposit into a system, the transactions are instant and free most of the time.
On the negative side, withdrawing money from let’s say a forex exchange or a betting site takes a little while. Even the fastest paying online betting sites will need a couple of days to send you the money.
If you intend to use similar platforms, you should probably look at some of the other options here.
E-wallets
Next in line are e-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. There are many others out there, but if you are looking for a popular solution that’s universally accepted, you should stick to some of them.
You can deposit, pay or withdraw on the web instantly. You can connect your e-wallets to your bank account or to other options, so moving from and to them is easy.
They all have a reliable version on mobile and the fees for each transaction are predominantly covered by the retailer, so you won’t be charged. There are exceptions, though, so make sure you check if that’s the case.
Furthermore, you can use e-wallets to send or receive money from your friends, family, and other people. It’s one of the easiest ways to transfer cash from another country and the fees are way lower than international banking transactions and other traditional methods.
Cryptocurrencies
You must be living under a rock if you have heard about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The digital asset was only known to nerds up to a couple of years ago but exploded recently.
Nowadays, people from all over the globe know about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other popular coins. Some using them for their daily needs, while others are speculating on the exchanges or have invested in the long-term future of the crypto world and are hodling.
Ever since Bitcoin entered the mainstream, most industries have found a way to implement it. It’s still not as easy to use as credit cards, e-wallets, and other traditional methods, so a lot fall for common bitcoin scams.
You can pay anonymously and if a certain country is restricted from something for whatever reason, chances are you will be able to find a workaround using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
They are not ideal as a main payment option, but they serve as an excellent backup for rare situations. And you probably will end up in one eventually, if you are traveling to exotic destinations.
