Does Scotiabank have prepaid travel cards? Here’s an alternative

Scotiabank® prepaid travel cards would let you hold and spend money abroad in multiple currencies. However, Scotiabank discontinued these cards in September 2019.¹

If you’re looking for a convenient alternative, Wise has got you covered.

Spend money in 175 countries at the mid-market exchange rate, including digital payment options and free ATM cash withdrawals for your trip.

Let’s take a closer look at the Wise card.

Key features of the Wise for travellers

Many prepaid travel cards from major banks charge exchange rate markups for using your card abroad. This is how they make money – and it can mean you end up paying more than expected.

The Wise card is a great Scotiabank alternative for Canadian tourists. Whether you’re visiting the US or you’re travelling around Europe, use your Wise card to spend in 40+ currencies, including CAD, GBP, EUR and USD.

Don’t let cash hold you back. You can use your Wise card to top up, convert and track your spending as you travel – and you can even spend any leftover money in Canada when you get back home.

Use Wise to save up to 4x when you spend across the world!

At Wise, you only pay for what you spend. Sounds fair, right?

Here’s how: Wise doesn’t charge currency conversion fees – and you’ll never pay subscription fees, expiration fees or annual fees. You can check out a breakdown of any costs before you pay for full transparency.

Use your Wise travel card to:

• Pay in local currency online or in person
• Access advanced security features
• Withdraw money from ATMs abroad

…all from just one card.

How to get the Wise card before you travel

If you’re still living in Canada, you can easily apply for your Wise card. However, if you’re living abroad, you’ll need to make sure you live in one of Wise’s eligible countries before applying for your card. Besides Canada, Wise also offers cards to residents of these countries :

• the UK
• the US
• most of the EEA
• Switzerland
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Japan
• Brazil

It’s easy to apply for your Wise card. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide.

Step 1. Open your Wise account online. Once Wise verifies your account, you’ll get a chance to add money in alternative currencies.

Step 2. Next, you can order your Wise card by selecting ‘Card’ in your account. Wise will check your personal details, verify your account and send your card to you. It’s free to order a card in Canada!

Step 3. Once you receive your card, you’ll need to activate it. In most countries, you’ll need to make a payment using Chip and Pin or withdraw cash at an ATM to activate your card

Already abroad? Get the Wise virtual card in a few clicks with these steps.

Using your Wise card abroad

The Wise card is an easy-to-use alternative – and it means you don’t have to carry different currencies in cash.

You can order your card and start spending instantly with the digital card, including options to freeze your card while you travel. You can add your virtual Wise card to Google Pay® or Apple Pay® for seamless spending from your phone.

Use your Wise card to make payments abroad at the standard mid-market exchange rate - no commissions, no hidden fees, no stress!

You can even make 2 free ATM withdrawals each month with Wise – including 3 million ATMs across the world.

While Wise may not charge ATM fees for the first 2 withdrawals, the ATM providers might add their own fees.

Managing your Wise card while travelling

Use Wise’s handy mobile app to manage and track your spending while you travel, including convenient top-up options and real-time notifications for every transaction.

You can also change your spending limits while you travel if you need to spend more on your card.

1. Simply sign into your Wise account
2. Select ‘Cards’ then ’Limits’
3. You can then choose which limit you’d like to change and how much you want to spend.

Your money is safe with Wise. You’ll get a notification whenever you use your card, with a dedicated fraud prevention team to protect your money.

Make sure to always keep your physical Wise card safe and report suspected fraudulent activity to Wise as soon as possible.

If you lose your card or you think it might have been stolen, you should freeze it to make sure no one else can use it. You can do this in the Wise app by selecting “Card” and then “Freeze card”. You can unfreeze your card at any time.

If you don’t find your card, you can replace it by selecting the “Card” tab and then “Replace card”. Follow any prompts to get your replacement card shipped straight to you. Easy!

To sum it up

The Wise card is a handy alternative to Scotiabank’s prepaid travel cards. You can spend money in 175 countries, with no exchange rate markups or currency conversion fees for payments in different currencies.

You can even order your physical or virtual Wise card online, but don’t forget to activate it before you start spending overseas.

If you want to learn more about using a prepaid card abroad, check out our guide to BMO®Prepaid Travel Card or Travel credit cards for Canadians.