As a traveler, one of the basics you need to take care of even before booking hotels and flights is a payment method that won’t fail you at the most critical moment. Of course, the payment must work with hotels and flights, but it should also be reliable when paying for smaller expenses such as meals and taxi rides.
One of the challenges you have to deal with when choosing a payment method to use as a traveler is that different countries use different payment methods.
For example, if you are going to China, most merchants will likely accept the mobile payment solution Alipay as it is the payment method with the most established infrastructure. Meanwhile, if you are visiting Kenya, merchants will likely be more willing to accept the short text mobile money service Mpesa.
No payment method will serve you well everywhere you go on the globe. However, a few options can take care of the primary payment solution needs in most destinations you visit, such as paying for hotels and air tickets.
A great example of a handy payment method for international travel is debit cards, in particular Visa and Mastercard. Indeed, these cards were specifically designed for international travel.
However, even with these options, one must accept that international borders delay settlements, impose limits and even completely censor the user. The latter would be the case if, for example, someone traveled to a country like Iran or Russia.
The Bitcoin Offer
By its inherent nature, Bitcoin provides the capacity to process transactions by travelers, their location notwithstanding. First, Bitcoin is not limited by international borders, as no special arrangement needs to be in place before it can function in a particular country. It is also simple for local merchants to accept it. All the traveler and the merchant need is access to the internet.
As a user of Bitcoin, you don’t need to work around any limitations. You can spend as much as you need and pay with it in any store.
With the adoption of the lightning network, it could be very cheap (in terms of transaction fees) to pay with Bitcoin. It is also fast, and the traveler and the merchants do not need to wait for confirmations.
Challenges to be overcome
Of course, the one thing that stands in the way of Bitcoin being the payment of choice for many is the fact that many merchants still don’t accept it either because they aren’t aware of it, they are not sure about the regulatory situation, or they are not tech savvy enough.
However, that is slowly changing, especially considering that countries provide the necessary legal environment. Indeed two countries (El Salvador and the Central Africa Republic) have recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender.
In the meantime, as a traveler, you can use a crypto debit card, which can give you some of the benefits you stand to get if you use Bitcoin directly. For example, you will have access to your funds no matter where you are on the globe. The limits are also relatively higher than what you get with other payment options. Indeed, the card can serve as a convenient off-and-on ramp.
Indeed you can also get unique additional services, such as concierge services with specific service providers. With such a card, you can shop in stores that know nothing about crypto.
In the long term, with adoption and increased wallet functionalities, one might only need their smartphone to make instant payments whenever they go on the globe.
