Travelex Money Cards Will Help Americans Spend While Traveling

A foreign exchange currency company has launched America's first pre-paid currency card that operates on the "chip-and-PIN" system. The new Cash Passport MasterCard requires a PIN (Personal Identification Number) and signature to work, and since it's loaded with funds before you travel, it's not tied to your bank account, which minimizes loss if it's stolen or hacked.

Chip-and-PIN use has grown to be about more than security or convenience. It's now a necessity for travelers. It's hard to exaggerate just how left-behind America has been when it comes to credit card use. The rest of the Western world has moved past our primitive magnetic stripe cards. Americans with standard credit cards are like, as I wrote on WalletPop last year, cavemen in a chip-and-PIN world.