Cash vs. Cards

Kimberly Chong
Electronic Business Marketing
BI International Summer Program, Summer II 2019

Before I arrived in Norway for summer school, I spent three weeks travelling around Europe. I was travelling in the United Kingdom (UK), Scotland, and Sweden. Considering that I will be in different countries who use different currencies, the money situation wasn’t as easy as I thought. I couldn’t just change USD to one currency and be done. I had several options laid out and I will share the pros and cons of each.

First option was to carry USD with me and change to local currency in each country. This is probably the most common route people go for especially if you are just heading to one location. If I were to just head to Norway straight from US, I could have even changed some money to Norwegian Krone (NOK) and brought it with me to Norway and exchange more when needed. With this option, my main concern having to carry so much cash around. I wasn’t confident and was worried about being pick pocketed. However, if you are planning to come to Norway, don’t worry too much because it is a relatively safe place here. For extra peace of mind, you could also purchase travel money belts. I personally bought one so that I would feel safer. They are a great solution because they go under your shirt, so it won’t be seen. It is very thin, don’t worry about any bulge forming. They are also very comfortable to wear. They can carry cash, passport, and anything else that fits.

The second option I had was to use my American debit card to withdraw cash in each country. This is what I would recommend if you are planning to use cash in your study abroad location. Depending on your bank, the fee to withdraw cash will vary. For me, I was charged 5 USD every time I withdrew money. Withdrawing from the ATMs are also the best option because they have much better rates compared to the money changers. If you do plan on doing this, do check with your bank about this. Some questions to ask them are regarding the fee for withdrawing cash and if there is any limit to the amount you can withdraw. I encountered a problem in London while trying to withdraw money and I had to call my bank. The problem was that the amount I wanted to withdraw exceeded my limit, so the transaction failed.