Travelex site is back in Australia, but is it all smooth sailing again?
After being hacked on New Year’s Eve, foreign exchange services company, Travelex has finally made its way back online.
Back in January, Mozo reported that Travelex’s data had been held at ransom by cyberhackers, who threatened to sell 5GBs worth of customer information on the dark web unless the company paid them USD$6 million (a whopping $8.7 million AUD). This caused the site to shut down all online systems, to protect any further data from being compromised.
However, as of last week, the international travel money giant restored the Australian version of its website and is back online - but it’s not all business as usual just yet.
Foreign cash online orders still remain unavailable amongst the major banks and services that are in partnership with Travelex.
Three of the big four: NAB, CommBank, Westpac, are all part of the list of banks that were affected by the hacking as well as Bank of Queensland, Beyond Bank, Bankwest and even Australia Post.
RELATED ARTICLE: Major Aussie banks’ foreign exchange services down following Travelex site ransom
What alternatives are there to online foreign cash orders?
While ordering foreign cash online remains unavailable across the above banks and services, in most cases you can still get your hands on international currencies in-branch.
Another alternative for Aussies heading overseas is opting for a prepaid travel card. These cards allow you to load funds in a range of currencies, and once you get to your location you can visit a local ATM and withdraw funds there.
Plus, it works just like a regular debit card as well, so you have the flexibility to use the card even if you hop from country to country and need to access different currencies to make purchases.
RELATED ARTICLE: Top travel money cards for Aussies
Keen to weigh up what travel card options are out there? Check out our travel money 101 guide for more information or jump over to our travel money hub to compare travel money options