Travelex Currency Services Inc., one of the few companies that offers U.S. residents cards that adhere to the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications, has begun selling the cards online.
EMV cards include a chip that improves security for point of sale transactions. Though the U.S. has not widely adopted the standard, many other countries have, and this has presented problems for travelers attempting to use U.S.-issued magnetic stripe cards in those countries.
Travelex said Wednesday that its customers can choose to have an EMV prepaid card delivered by mail or held in a store for pickup. The fee for in-store pickup ranges from free to $9.99.
Travelex offers an Online Price Promise to online purchasers, allowing them to pay the lowest amount for the foreign currency loaded to the prepaid account if, within 14 days, the customer locates a lower price for the currency that was listed on the day the card was purchased.
Travelex began offering EMV prepaid cards to U.S. residents in December, and since that time, “we’ve had outstanding feedback from our customers on the” product, Jon Dario, president of Travelex Currency Services, the U.S. unit of Travelex Holdings Ltd., said in a press release. “It is smart for American travelers to have the same level of technical compatibility that many other international travelers currently enjoy.”
In the months following the launch of Travelex’s card, two major banks, Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., announced plans to offer EMV cards to U.S. customers that travel internationally.
