Quick Summary:
The Wise Card offers the best exchange rate by far compared to other travel money cards we compared it against. It also provides access to 40+ currencies compared to the other travel cards (including the Travelex Card) which only offer access to 10 currencies. The main downside of the Wise Card is that it charges a one-off fee of $14 NZD for a new card, but we found that you save more than that on just your first $1,000 exchange due to the more favourable exchange rate the Wise card offers.
You can learn more about the Wise Travel Card on the Wise website.
What is a Wise Card?
A Wise Card (also known as Wise Travel Card) is a prepaid card that allows you to load money onto your card and spend or withdraw your money in multiple currencies. You can use your Wise Debit Card as a safe and secure way to take money overseas or to make purchases from home using foreign currencies.
Wise Debit Cards are issued by Wise PLC which is a global money transfer company started in London in 2011 and is now one of the fastest growing tech companies in the world.
Our Verdict on the Wise Card
Best Travel Card Exchange Rate
Our investigation shows that the Wise Card offers the best exchange rate of all the Travel Cards in we compared in New Zealand. See below for more details on our travel money card exchange rate analysis.
No need to Transfer between currencies
We like the fact that the Wise Card does not require you to convert your money into foreign currencies before withdrawing or spending it in a foreign currency. This is because many travel cards charge you extra fees if you try to spend or withdraw in a currency that is not already loaded onto your card. What’s more, if you go ahead and load foreign currencies on to your card and have any left over foreign currencies on your card at the end of your travel you would have to convert it back to your local currency most likely at a much less favourable rate than when you converted it from your local currency into a foreign currency.
The Wise Debit Card allows you to keep your money in your local currency and only converted it when you need foreign currencies at the real conversion rate. This means you don’t have to worry about converting your left over currencies back to your local currency when you get back. The Travelex Money Card for example, charges a 4% fee if you try to withdraw cash in a currency not loaded on to your card.
More choice of currencies
Wise allows you to convert your money into 40+ currencies unlike the likes of Travelex, CashPassport, Westpac Global Currency and OneSmart card which only have 10 or less currencies to choose from. This means traditional Travel Cards such as Travelex are not going to be very useful when travelling to places like South East Asia, South America and Africa.
Receive and send Foreign Currency
With a Wise Debit Card you can receive foreign currency into a multi-currency account linked to the card which can be very handy for some. You can also send money overseas to others using your Wise account.
Downsides of the Wise Card
Although the Wise Travel Card is a great Travel Card, there are some downsides to be aware of as detailed below.
Annual Fees
The Wise Card charges a one-off fee of $14 NZD for a new debit card which many of the other Travel Card providers do not charge.
ATM Withdrawal Fees
The Wise Card allows you 2 ATM withdrawals per month of up to $350 NZD per month but after the free limit is exceeded Wise charges 1.75% per withdrawal plus $1.5 NZD.
Summary:
The Wise Debit Card is a great card for travelling because it gives you access to 40+ currencies and from our research also offers the best exchange rate compared to other travel money cards in New Zealand. You also get to keep your money in New Zealand dollars and withdraw it in foreign currencies which is great.
The downside of the Wise Card is that it charges a one-off fee of $14 for a new card, and once you exceed the $350 free ATM withdrawal limit per month Wise charges you 1.75% plus $1.5 NZD for each ATM withdrawal.
Considering the very favourable exchange rates and low currency conversion fee offered by Wise plus the huge selection of currencies to choose from, we think that the Wise Travel Card is the Best Travel Card avaialable in New Zealand today although we would like to see them remove the one-off new card fee.
For more information about the Wise Travel Card or to apply for a Wise Card visit the Wise website.
For more information about the Wise Travel Card or to apply for a Wise Card click on relevant buttons below.
About Wise PLC
Wise PLC (previously know as Transfer Wise) is a global money transfer company headquartered in London, UK. Wise helped move £118.5bn ($246bn NZD) around the world in the 2024 financial year ending 31st of March 2024, and reported a revenue of £1.05 billion ($2.18 billion NZD) and profit of £354.6 million ($736.5 million NZD).
Wise is one of the worlds fastest growing tech companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WISE. About 5% of the total money moved by people across borders went through Wise PLC in 2023 (that’s saying something). Wise PLC was founded in 2011 by Kristo Käärmann and Taavet Hinrikus after Kristo Käärmann was frustrated with the fees he was charged for sending money overseas to Estonia
Wise Card Exchange Rate compared to other Travel Cards
We have put together the table below to help you get a quick snapshot of the exchange rate for each of the Travel Money Cards listed below. This data was collected on the 2nd of July 2024. The table below shows how much $1,000 NZD is converted into USD and GBP for each Travel Card.
| Wise Card: | 602.35 USD 477.07 GBP |
| Travelex Money Card: | 589.10 USD 454.40 GBP |
| Westpac Global Currrency: | 587.09 USD 458.35 GBP |
| Cash Passport: | 585.60 USD 458.40 GBP |
| OneSmart Card: | 585.25 USD 462.91 GBP |
For more information visit the Wise website.
Wise Card Fees vs Other Travel Cards
The fee structure varies slightly for each card, but we have outlined some key fees below to help you compare Travel Money Cards compared to the Wise Card.
Travelex Money Card Fees:
Below are key fees charged by Travelex for their Travelex Money Card at the time of this writing.
| New Card Fee | Free |
| Account Funding Fee | The greater of 1.0% of the initial load/reload amount or $10.00 NZD. |
| Currency Conversion Fees | 4% on top of Mastercard exchange rate. |
| Foreign ATM Fees | Free |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | Free (as long as you have funds in that currency) |
| Monthly Fee | Free (or $4 if inactive for more than 12 months) |
Wise Travel Card:
Below are key fees charged by Wise for their Travel Card at the time of this writing.
| New Card Fee | 14 NZD |
| Account Funding Fee | Free |
| Currency Conversion Fees | varies by currency and date. Example AUD = 1.65%, GBP = 1.25% and EUR = 1.16% |
| Foreign ATM Fees | $350 Free per month then 1.75% of transaction value plus $1.5 NZD |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | Free |
| Monthly Fee | Free |
Cash Passport Card Fees:
Below are key fees charged by CashPassport for their CashPassport at the time of this writing.
| New Card Fee | Free |
| Account Funding Fee | Free using bank transfer or Bill Payment |
| Currency Conversion Fees | 5.95% on top of Mastercard exchange rate |
| Foreign ATM Fees | Varies per currency. For example, 2 GBP in the UK |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | Free |
| Monthly Fee | Free |
Westpac Global Currrency Card Fees:
Below are key fees charged by Westpac for their Westpac Global Currency Card at the time of this writing.
| New Card Fee | Free |
| Account Funding Fee | Free for direct bank transfer |
| Currency Conversion Fees | 2.95% of transaction value using Mastercard exchange rate |
| Foreign ATM Fees | Free |
| Foreign Currency Transaction Fee | Free |
| Monthly Fee | Free |
OneSmart Travel Card Fees:
Below are key fees charged by Air New Zealand for their OneSmart Travel Card at the time of this writing.
Other Fees to be aware of
Some cards such as Travelex charge an account closure fee and some cards charge you for withdrawing cash in New Zealand. Travelex also charges you a monthly inactivity fee if you do not use your card for more than 12 months. Luckily the Wise Travel Card does not charge any of these fees.
For more information and tips to help you choose the best credit card in NZ, visit our website Credit Cards Compare.
