| Whether you are going on vacation, helping a friend | | | | financial assistance, you might consider sending them |
| overseas, paying for an item in another country, or | | | | a prepaid debit card as soon as possible. They might |
| trying to transfer money before a move, you will | | | | not need it for years, or at all, but if they ever do, |
| find you have many options. However, most of them | | | | the funds you add to the card would be available for |
| charge high fees and take days or even weeks for | | | | use immediately. Most money transfers through |
| the money to be available. A prepaid debit card is | | | | banks take at least one to three business days, and |
| one way to avoid going through expensive money | | | | checks can take weeks. When it comes to getting |
| transfer companies and banks with strict rules when | | | | money immediately, the prepaid debit card makes |
| you need to transfer money to Europe. Consider the | | | | sense. |
| top reasons to use a prepaid debit card instead of | | | | 3). You can transfer large amounts of money for |
| other options. | | | | very little. If you only need to send a few dollars at |
| 1). There are no expensive exchange rate fees. | | | | a time, it might make sense to use a service that |
| When you transfer money to Europe using a prepaid | | | | charges a percentage of your funds. However, when |
| debit card, you will send the funds in U.S. dollars. | | | | you send a hundreds of dollars at once, the fees can |
| However, when you or the recipient goes to | | | | add up unless it is a flat rate. The prepaid debit card |
| withdraw the cash in any country, the funds will be in | | | | charges a flat rate of $5, no matter how much you |
| the proper currency. In most cases, it will be in the | | | | send. This means you can transfer money to Europe |
| euro, as most European countries switched to that | | | | at quite reasonable prices. There are small fees to |
| currency. So if you withdraw money in Italy, Belgium, | | | | use the card, but it is less than a dollar to use it at |
| France, Finland, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, the | | | | retailers, and a few dollars to withdraw cash. The |
| Netherlands, and Spain, among others, you will get | | | | most cost-effective way to use it would likely be to |
| euros. However, a few countries do not use the | | | | send a lot of money at once, and then have your |
| euro. This means that if you withdraw money in | | | | recipient withdraw the cash at one time. No matter |
| England, it will be in pounds, in Denmark it will be in | | | | how you use it, though, it is still much cheaper than |
| kroner, in Sweden it will be in kronor, in Bulgaria it will | | | | most other transfer options. |
| be in lev, to name a few currencies. No matter | | | | You might transfer money to Europe frequently, in |
| where you go, you will have the correct currency, | | | | which case you hopefully already use a prepaid debit |
| whether you withdraw money from the ATM or use | | | | card. Even if you hardly ever send money, the best |
| your debit card at retailers. | | | | way to be prepared is to send a card to your friends |
| 2). The prepaid debit card can get money to | | | | or family in European countries. This preparation can |
| recipients fast. As long as you have the card already, | | | | not only save you a lot of money in fees, but might |
| your funds will be available immediately. In fact, if you | | | | also prevent your recipients from going without |
| have friends or family overseas that might need your | | | | money for long. |