Media Blog
The Potential Future of Currency in Travel
Anyone who travels internationally is used to going through the process of taking their currency and converting it to the currency of their destination at providers like Xchange of America. Whether this is using United States Dollars to purchase euros, or baht, or pounds, it is a common process that has slowly but surely evolved.
What used to be done face to face in a bank, can now be done online. Travelers have the ease of going online, opening their account, and now have the ability to buy foreign currency online.
Each of these paper currencies are regulated and recognized around the world in the currency exchange market which values each of them in relation to the others. This is the way it has always been with countries regulating their own currency to either increase or decrease its value, therein affecting the way consumers – and travelers – buy, sell, and use currency.
The digital age, while being underway for quite some time, is beginning to further innovate the way currency is used, traded, and even perceived and understood. The first cryptocurrency released in 2009 and was the first currency that was not regulated by a single, centralized entity such as a government.
This shocked the world and has quickly, in the time since then, branched off into a plethora of new cryptocurrencies – currencies that are not tangible, but stored online in accounts. The up and coming cryptocurrency is beginning to become another way to purchase currencies that are accepted in many locations, however, they still lack the widespread acceptance of most paper currencies.
Some currencies that have branched off of the original cryptocurrency have slowly but surely grown in popularity, use, and value. So much so that it has caught the eyes of major banks and governments and could change the way travelers prepare for their trips with regards to how they handle their currency transactions.
India’s Axis Bank has decided to launch cryptocurrency payments, effectively propelling cryptocurrency into uncharted territory. A quote from The Economic Times cites deputy managing director for the bank saying “We are committed to using innovation in technology to make banking simple and convenient for our customers”.
China is the latest country to investigate the idea of using cryptocurrencies as a ubiquitous currency. China’s central bank officials have had numerous meetings with the company behind to discuss their currency in hopes of implementing a system that uses cryptocurrency.
Could this mean that soon rather than buying Indian rupee or Chinese renminbi, travelers can buy cryptocurrency? Probably not in the near future. Only time will tell, but with India’s Axis Bank on board with the idea, and other Indian banks announcing they would follow the cryptocurrency trend as well, there is a possibility.
This means, for travelers, that they could soon have 2 sources of currency to buy that would be viable in countries they choose to visit. You may be able to choose an original currency at providers like Xchange of America, cryptocurrency, or both options when you travel abroad. Only time will tell the future of cryptocurrency and the role it will play – or not play – for travelers of the world.