Do you think that your debit card will carry you everywhere you want to go? Well, if we’re talking about using your debit card in your own country, you will have no problem using it there of course. However, if you’re one of the people that want to travel internationally, then you would do well to see whether or not you can really use a debit card to shop in a foreign country. The last thing that you want to do is buy things and then come to the checkout point and not be able to pay. In some countries, this can be a sign of disrespect and some might even think that you planned on defrauding them! Not a great way to make a first impression, that’s for sure!
If you’re trying to really use your debit card to shop in a foreign country, you can definitely do so. But you will need to make sure that you look at the fine print on doing such a thing. First and foremost, you must understand that you will not always be able to use a debit everywhere. It’s very important to ask before you ring up purchases, especially if you’re in a restaurant. Usually a store will display the MasterCard or Visa logo, which means that they will accept your card.
On the other hand, you might want to pull cash out of the ATM and use that. Not every country uses ATMs in full swing the way some countries do. This means that if you’re used to an ATM on every corner you might be in for a shock in a big way. Thankfully, most airports will have ATMS that you can use.
Now, you also need to remember that this isn’t a free privilege unless you have a bank that will either waive the fees or that you will go to a an ATM that’s part of the same network that you se at home. When in doubt, you might want to stay home and look up bank branches and ATMs before you really need them.
In case of an emergency, having cash is a good thing. Of course, you don’t want to just carry around cash from your country — exchanging over is a good thing. Look for exchange places outside of the airport — this is where most tourists will go, and the exchangers know it. Exchange kiosks aren’t hard to find, especially if you’re bent on looking for them!
You may have been told in the past that traveler’s checks are a good alternative to debit cards, but this is no longer the case. Information does change over the years, and many merchants have stopped accepted traveler’s checks. It’s not a bad idea to carry a few, but carrying the bulk of your funds in traveler’s checks isn’t the great idea that it once was.
Overall, if you know that you want to use your debit card in a foreign country, you just need to go in with your eyes open and know the fees involved. That’s all there really is to it!
