Many people still exchange cash for the local currency when they travel abroad. Frequent travelers still find themselves gravitating toward the nearest money exchange counter, often at the airport as soon as they land.

But there have been numerous innovations in this space to make financial issues when traveling less cumbersome. Debit and credit cards are slowly becoming more commonplace, and even within those platforms, financial companies offer more and more features partly to get more people to patronize their products, but also to make traveling more hassle-free.

For example, a useful feature would be to offer a digital wallet with multiple currencies, instead of actual paper money that you put in a real-life, tactile wallet. This is exactly what Citibank is introducing in its new Global Wallet for its Debit Mastercard.

A first in the country, the Citibank Global Wallet allows customers to access up to eight currencies in their Debit Mastercard through the Citi mobile app. These currencies are the Philippine Peso, U.S. dollar, Euro, Australian Dollar, Sterling Pound, Japanese Yen, Hong Kong Dollar and the Singapore Dollar, all of which are some of the most frequently used by Filipino travelers.

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW The feature makes it possible for users to make purchases overseas at point-of-sale or online, and even withdraw cash from Citibank ATMs without incurring additional currency conversion charges.

Existing Citigold and Citi Priority bank account holders can turn on their Citibank Global Wallet through the Citi mobile app or Citibank Online and open an account in any of the eight foreign currencies in an instant. They can then simply transfer money from their primary U.S. dollar or Euro account to the newly opened foreign currency account.

So, say you’re going to Japan. You just open a Japanese yen account on your Citi app, transfer funds from your existing U.S. dollar account, and you’re good to go. You can now use your Debit Mastercard while you’re up and about in Tokyo, Osaka or wherever else the shinkansen takes you in the Land of the Rising Sun. (Just make sure you have enough funds in your account!)

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW “Citibank Global Wallet is a key feature embedded in the Citi Mobile App. Clients looking for greater convenience can enable this feature. It is hassle-free and worry free,” says Citi Philippines Consumer Business head Manoj Varma.

“Citibank Global Wallet is perfect for travelling overseas, making online purchases and transferring foreign currencies for payments,” says Citi Philippines Retail Bank head Therese Chan. “Customers don’t have to go all the way to a bank or to a money changer to exchange foreign currency before a trip. They don’t even have to worry about bringing a big amount of cash with them. They can use the wallet anytime, when visiting family or friends in those countries, or whether travelling for business or for leisure.”

Citi, which is the second oldest bank in the Philippines, is even offering a welcome gift of up to $5,000 cash credits for customers who open a banking relationship today.

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW For more information, visit the Citibank Global Wallet website .