It is evident that today’s youth is quickly parting ways from “old fashioned” methods of payment, and are paying for things in ways that their parents and grandparents never imagined. Not surprisingly, it is becoming easier to purchase new clothes, some shoes, or even a coffee from the local Starbucks by just flashing a mobile app. Paying for these same things while travelling is a different story… or so I thought.
Traveling around the world is every university student’s dream - imagine shopping in trendy boutiques in the small towns of Calabria, going for a boat ride around the island of Capri, or taking selfies in the ancient Roman Forum. This surely beats sitting in three-hour lectures and writing 12-page essays about why “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” Fortunately, I was able to experience these very things on my trip to Italy this past summer. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to travel to Italy to learn about my grandparent’s culture, and I finally was able to fly overseas to eat delicious food, see gorgeous sights, and attend a true Italian wedding - tarantella and all.
Like most Italian families, we were all over the place, talking (loudly) about what we were looking forward to the most. Let me tell you, being stuck in two airports and an airplane for nearly 23 hours gave us plenty of time to talk about the adventures we would soon experience. Yes, 23 hours! Although our trip had a rocky start, our Cash Passports were there to save the day. All of our luggage went missing, so naturally, we had to do some shopping to buy some new clothes and other necessities to sustain us until our luggage arrived (I surely was not complaining). I was able to use my Cash Passport in every store that accepted Mastercard - even in the small boutiques in Southern Italy. It was easy to use, as I could just tap the card on the terminal and go. Since I had loaded my money in Euros before leaving, I did not have any surprises in regards to how much something actually cost. Keeping track of my spending was easy to do, as I downloaded the ZenWallet app onto my phone and was able to check the remaining balance on my card, as well as a list of the purchases I had made. Loading money onto my Cash Passport was also easy, as I simply went to topmeup.ca, and topped up my Cash Passport balance online using debit.
Overall, the process was seamless and very simple - from the moment I purchased my Cash Passport, to using it in Italy, the process was stress free. Even my grandmother was able to easily add money to her Cash Passport and use it in Italy, proving that the Cash Passport is definitely user-friendly. When I returned to Ottawa, I converted the remaining Euros that were on my Cash Passport to Canadian dollars and used it to pay for some of my school books.
The Cash Passport is convenient, efficient, and easy to use. I would even recommend it to university students who plan on doing a semester abroad - whether it be in Europe, Mexico, Australia, or even Japan. I am already planning my next trip to Italy and France, and I know for sure that the first thing I will pack is my Cash Passport!