Mastercard credit cards launches traveller friendly plastic

Mastercard credit cards and the International currency exchange are set to launch a plastic alternative to travellers cheques.

The Mastercard Europe Cash2Go card is a Maestro debit card, protected by chip and pin technology. Consumers will load a balance onto the card which they can then spend once abroad.

Customers will be able to load anything between 50 and 2,500 dollars, euros or sterling on the card, which will be rolled out across the UK over the next three months.

Talking to Finextra, Keith Hobbs, VP and head of business development, MasterCard Europe, said the new card "offers consumers a great opportunity to get easy, safe, and secure access to their money".