Low-cost flights, carefully booked hotels or B & Bs, trains taken months in advance: when planning a holiday we always try to make the most of our savings, saving where we can. But while flights, trains and accommodation are often the most important expense notes of a trip, it is also important to be prepared for during. Between meals, souvenirs and travel, managing your finances, also thanks to the holiday climate, can become very problematic. Thankfully by now the apps to manage money on vacation (but not only) are not lacking, and they can certainly make our life easier. So if you want to know which applications to download to keep your finances under control during your next trip, read on!
Read also "Airport lounge access: being VIP without flying in business [DEFINITIVE GUIDE]"
It is called Bel Paese for a reason
It is absolutely not strange or "fallback" to stay in Italy even during the holidays. On the other hand, our country is one of the most famous destinations in the world, with countless places to discover and admire, and with some tricks up its sleeve also for digital payments.
Satispay
The first platform to be named when it comes to digital payments in Italy is definitely Satispay. Born and operating for now only in the Bel Paese (but with plans also to expand in the near future in Luxembourg e Germany), allows you to do many things that will make your life easier even outside your vacation:
- payments in stores with only the mobile phone
- money exchange with your contacts
- paying bills
- creation of digital piggy banks
and much more!
SIGN UP TO SATISPAY THROUGH THIS LINK TO GET A 5 EURO BONUS
Without going too far into all the features of this application (we have created a guide on purpose), what makes Satispay particularly interesting in a holiday context is the cashback. Affiliated commercial businesses, in fact, can offer (and often do) a immediate refund of a percentage of the amount spent at their shop. This "discount" is often limited by a maximum ceiling, that is, once a certain amount has been accrued over the course of several purchases, we will no longer be able to use it. But this eventuality will not occur instead on vacation, where the places visited will always be new, and where we can take advantage of promotions to save something during our stay.
Many other aspects of Satispay can be useful during the holidays: we can go around with less money in our pockets, if necessary we can have money sent directly to our Satispay account and, if the holiday is among friends, it is much easier to divide a dinner or an expense. In short, an application that is worth considering for the next few days out of town.
Download
QR-Code
Satispay
Developer:
SATISPAY S.P.A.
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
Satispay
Developer:
Satispay S.p.A
Price:
Free
Bill by SisalPAY
An application in many respects similar to Satispay is Bill, a digital wallet supported by SisalPay. If this platform also allows you to make payments in affiliated shops and exchange money with friends and relatives, compared to Satispay it does not have all those other features (incorporated in a complementary way in the SisalPay application) that would otherwise make it a complete platform for life. everyday.
However, this makes it a more essential app, with however a cashback program to use and above all the possibility to top up your account by paying cash at any SisalPay sales pointinstead of waiting for the weekly refill. Of course, the points of sale where you can use it to pay are less than Satispay (30'000 against 70'000) but they are still enough to make its use interesting, even if only to take advantage of offers and discounts.
Download
QR-Code
Bill by SisalPay
Developer:
Mooney S.p.A.
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
Bill by SisalPay
Developer:
Mooney S.p.A.
Price:
Free
A leap abroad
On the other hand, if we go abroad, for the most part we will not find, except for particular exceptions, difficulties in using our normal credit or prepaid card, both to pay and to withdraw, to be monitored with the app of the respective bank. Even mobile payment systems that "emulate" the use of a chip card (Apple Pay to iOS, Google Pay to Android) should work without problems, where they are accepted.
Read also: Hype, N26 and buddybank comparison: which is the best mobile banking?
You could, however, evaluate the idea of opening one of the many online accounts created to be used almost exclusively from your mobile phone. In addition to allowing you to easily manage your money, most of these accounts allow you to easily make purchases and withdrawals abroad, making them a perfect companion for our travels. All this often at no cost, with the option to pay for a 'premium' account with a number of additional benefits, including sometimes even atravel insurance included. But let's see which are the best cards of this type.
Hype
Hype, Italian account card linked to Banca Sella, in addition to having implemented most of the features necessary to manage your money directly in the app, from controlling expenses to planning savings, already from the free plan HYPE Start allows you to receive a MasterCard contactless letter equipped IBAN Italian and capable of withdraw without commissions anywhere in the world.
GET 10 EURO AS A GIFT NOW TO OPEN YOUR HYPE ACCOUNT USING OUR FRIEND CODE
* to get the 10 euro credit you have to top up the account with 1 €.
To all this is added the possibility of associating a total of 5 cards, in order to use, from time to time, the most convenient one, and the possibility to pay via smartphone, using either Apple Pay or Google Pay.
However, this card also has some limitations. Some, such as the annual payment limit a 2500€ and expense a 999€, are not necessarily tragic for a card to be used on vacation, and moreover they can be solved by switching to an account More with only 1€ per month. Others, such as the currency exchange rate a 3%, are instead more difficult to bypass, especially thinking of a trip outside the Eurozone. So it all depends on your plans and needs, but within the EU and for short trips Hype is certainly a very good option.
Download
QR-Code
Hype
Developer:
BancaSella
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
HYPE - Carta conto e app
Developer:
Banca Sella S.p.A.
Price:
Free
N26
N26, German mobile bank makes use abroad its strong point. Even just using the free version, it will be possible to withdraw anywhere in the Eurozone, pay without commissions in any currency and access an exchange rate of only 1.7%, which is reset by scaling to the version Black a 9.90€ per month.
IF YOU WANT TO TRY N26, USE THIS LINK TO GET 10 EUROS CREDIT * TO GET IT YOU MUST SPEND 15 EUROS WITH THE CARD
N26 Black it is also particularly interesting for travelers, as it allows free withdrawals all over the world, even outside the Eurozone, and includes the Allianz insurance package. The latter, with included medical expenses abroad, reimbursement for delays of more than 4 hours of flights or luggage, theft insurance and extended warranty for shopping, it is absolutely a must for any traveler, especially at this price.
Download
QR-Code
N26 — The Mobile Bank
Developer:
N26
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
N26 – The Mobile Bank
Developer:
N26 GmbH
Price:
Free
Revolut
English Revolut It is similar to N26 under different aspects, starting fromtravel insurance, offered by the company itself with the version Premium some paper. The latter, however, costs only 7.99€ per month, against 9.90€ of N26 Black. Worldwide withdrawals are also available up to 400€ per month (limited to only 200 in the free version and increased to 600 in the Metal da 13.99€ per month). The Metal version will also allow you to access the cashback on card payments. Let's talk about solo 0.1% in EU but well 1% outside the EU.
Among the cons of this card we have, in addition to the aforementioned withdrawal limit, theIBAN English, which prevents the use of the account for operations such as the payment of postal bills and tax contributions, limiting its usefulness outside a holiday context. However, if you are interested in a card with travel insurance included at an extremely advantageous price, it could be for you.
Download
QR-Code
Revolut
Developer:
Revolut Ltd
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
Revolut
Developer:
Revolut Ltd
Price:
Free
Buddybank
Get used to it iOS, there is a mobile card created exclusively for you and certainly with very interesting features. Let's talk about Buddybank, the mobile bank of Unicredit designed for yours iPhone. It is, from many points of view, the most complete proposal among those seen, as it also allows you to request a real one credit card, the 80€ the year for the free account or included in the account Love a 9.90€ per month. This last type of account also allows you to access a service 24/7 di Lifestyle Congierge, supplied by Quintessentially, and to be able to take advantage of transfers instantaneous e recurring payments.
To all this is added the possibility, by opening an account on July 01 2019 and spending at least 1000€ downtown 90 days from its opening, to receive a few AirPods next generation, perfect for listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts or making calls while on the go. The only flaw is the free withdrawals at the counters Unicredit, but with a commission of 2€ at other banks. A small detail, despite which Buddybank is probably the best choice for those who use an Apple smartphone.
Download QR-Code buddybank - Developer account and card: UniCredit Price: Free
XE Currency Converter
Moving beyond card accounts suitable for travel, when it comes to managing money abroad, you don't just have to worry about payments. In fact, problems can also arise when dealing with a foreign currency, with which you may not be familiar. For this you should install a currency converter. Although this function is now integrated into search engines and voice assistants, it is always a good idea to download an application that can also operate offline. Having the exchange rates under control will allow you to have a reference with respect to the figures (however higher for the commissions) shown at the counters when changing money, so you can choose the most convenient place. It will also allow you to evaluate how much you are actually spending during daily purchases and transactions, without being confused by the unfamiliar currency.
There are several applications that allow you to do this type of operation both on the Play Store and on the App Store. For both Android and iOS we particularly recommend the convertitor, which, in addition to showing you the exchange rates updated in real time, allows you to calculate the commission of a specific branch, simply by entering the amount you would receive by changing a certain amount of money. An indispensable tool for financially savvy users.
Download
QR-Code
Xe – Currency Converter & Global Money Transfers
Developer:
XE.com Inc.
Price:
Free
Download
QR-Code
Xe Currency & Money Transfers
Developer:
XE.com Inc.
Price:
Free
Alipay
As a final gem regarding payments abroad, if your travel destination is Asia and your stay is long enough, you could consider taking a foreign SIM and create an account Alipay. In fact, in many Asian countries, and especially in China, digital payments made through this application are extremely widespread, both in shops and even in street stalls. To pay just frame the QR Code displayed by the merchant and confirm the payment.
READ ALSO: Alipay users will be able to pay for taxis with their mobile phones
As already mentioned, however, to take advantage of it, a foreign SIM is unfortunately necessary, as at the moment it is not possible to register with an Italian number. It is therefore only worth evaluating if you have a Dual SIM phone and / or plan to stay abroad for a sufficiently long period.
Oh no, I'm out of money!
Despite the solutions seen so far to manage your finances, it can always happen, especially if you do not have your own account but only have a prepaid one, to run out of money. How to do in these cases? Of course, if possible, you can have your card recharged from home, with a immediate transfer. It is a type of bank transfer, available in Italy and throughout the Eurozone, with slightly higher commission costs but capable of getting the money to arrive in just 10 seconds from dispatch, both on weekdays and holidays, 24 hours a day and 24 days a week.
A perfect tool when you can use it, but what to do in case the bank of the sender still does not support this type of operation, or if we are in a country outside the Eurozone, or if, trivially, we are in a situation where it is more practical to receive cash directly? In this case it might be convenient to contact a money transfer operator. Thanks to the widespread network of branches affiliated with the two largest players in the sector, Western Union e MoneyGram, you can send money anywhere in the world in minutes.
But let's take a step back and first understand how a money transfer operation works. Those who send money must provide the operator, in addition to the amount to be sent, proof of their identity and the identification data of the person who is to receive the money. Once this is done, the sender will receive a numeric code, called MTCN (Money Transfer Cuntroll Number), identifier of the operation. At this point it will be sufficient to communicate this code to the person who must receive the money, who can withdraw it after a few minutes by presenting the MTCN and an identity document at an affiliated counter. And if once this operation required both the sender and the recipient to physically go to a money transfer, in 2019 this is no longer necessary, thanks to the web and mobile applications.
For both Western Union and MoneyGram you will first have to create a profile for those who will have to send money from home if necessary. On MoneyGram, at the time of registration, you will also need to upload a photo of your document and wait some time for verification. On Western Union, on the other hand, you will be able to start sending money right away, but after 5 days and / or about 800 euros you will still need to verify your identity to continue operating. It is therefore good to organize yourself a little in advance, perhaps in the weeks before the holiday, to have these tools immediately ready for the eventuality.
If and when the opportunity arises, it will be enough, from the site or application, to select the amount to be sent, the withdrawal method (cash or directly to the account) and where to withdraw the money (from a credit card or, for Western Union, even with a fast bank transfer Immediately). The commissions, certainly higher than those of a bank transfer, will be paid by the sender, and are in any case justified by the extreme versatility and sometimes exclusivity of the service offered.
Even if you are the people on the road who have to receive the money, download the two apps anyway, because they could be very useful. In fact, they will allow you to access some features such as the search for the affiliated counter closest to you, the possibility of withdrawing cash without filling out the necessary forms each time e the tracking of transactions in our favor.
Download QR-Code Western Union: send money from Italy Developer: Western Union Android Apps Price: Free
Download
QR-Code
Western Union® Invio denaro
Developer:
Western Union Holdings, Inc.
Price:
Free
Register
QR-Code
MoneyGram® Online Money Transfers App
Developer:
MGI
Price:
To be announced
This concludes our guide to the apps to better manage money on vacation. So you just have to choose a destination and leave. Have a good trip!
[amazon_link asins = '8862936257, B077BPYSZY, B016WZ15YG' template = 'ProductCarousel' store = 'gamspri02-21 ′ marketplace =' IT 'link_id =' fff49d23-b9ec-4835-b472-f8104bb67721 mobile payments] mobile payments moneygram apps Western union holiday satispay App to manage money on vacation: the best for Android and iOS
