Why Aussies are stocking up on cash before heading abroad

Paying with cash was a rarity even before Covid-19 came along, but there’s one area where it’s making a comeback as travellers stock up.

Moves to a cashless society post-Covid-19 are not being replicated in the travel space, with Aussies still preferring notes to plastic when heading overseas.

A survey of more than 1800 Australians by currency exchange company Travelex found 52 per cent stocked up on cash before flying abroad in preference to cards.

The percentage was even higher for the under 25-years age group, with 62 per cent choosing cash over cards, particularly those heading to destinations like Bali and Thailand.

Travelex chief executive Richard Wazacz said the rates were similar to those seen pre-pandemic and reflected the “peace of mind” cash provided, plus uncertainty about foreign payment platforms.

“Payment methods in countries are often very domestic, so every country has their only payment methodology. You call it EFTPOS in Australia, in the UK we have faster payments,” said Mr Wazacz.

“In China, it’s very hard to use Mastercard and Visa because of the popularity of China UnionPay. What you find is that people aren’t confident their domestic payment methods are going to work when they travel, but they recognise that cash does work.”

The most in-demand currency for Australian travellers continued to be the US dollar, followed by the euro, Indonesian rupiah, Japanese yen and the British pound.

“If it’s the US they’re headed, it’s the US dollar, when they’re going to Africa they take US dollars and when they go to Vietnam they take US dollars,” said Travelex Australia managing director Darren Brown.

“The US dollar is still the global currency.”

The US dollar is the most sought after currency for Australian travellers.

Not even a poor exchange rate was deterring travellers, although Mr Brown said Australians did tend to book holidays, and then buy cash when the rate was best.

Shopping for currency online was also booming post-pandemic, with Travelex seeing double-digit monthly increases in cash orders made online.

“There’s been a shift to online purchasing during Covid and that’s carried on to their travel planning and the purchase of foreign currency,” said Mr Brown.

Although exchange rates did not usually dictate where travellers went, Skyscanner research showed about 33 per cent of Australians using their site were actively looking at places where their dollars went further.

These included places like India, Argentina, Turkey and Japan where the Australian dollar was tracking well against the local currency as opposed to the UK and the US.

Skyscanner travel expert Jarrod Kris said flight bookings to India were up 21 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, with the strength of the Australian dollar against the rupee making it a “bargain destination”.

In fact $10 Australian dollars would cover all day car rental in India plus meals, while the same amount could pay for a 40-minute taxi ride in Istanbul, or a doner kebab with a beer.

A beer in Buenos Aires cost a mere $1.56 for Australians, and about $4 in Tokyo, and a coke or pepsi about $1.50.

Originally published as Why Aussies are stocking up on cash before heading abroad