YouTrip adds virtual card support, compatibility with Apple Pay, and more
"YouTrip 2.0”, an all-around revamp, with an additional virtual card, Apple Pay support, and limited fee waivers for overseas ATM withdrawals. Read on for the full set of changes!
Note: This article was first published on 12 June 2023.
YouTrip 2.0 brings a host of changes to make overseas spending just a little more convenient for travellers.
YouTrip today (12 June 2023) announced “YouTrip 2.0”, an all-around revamp of its multi-currency digital wallet. It has extensive updates to its features and interface to help travellers and holidaymakers make easier, safer, and better overseas payments.
“With the increasing adoption and reliance on digital wallets, users’ needs and expectations have also evolved over the years. YouTrip 2.0 is part of the company’s agile and iterative approach to product development and improvement based on user feedback, and market trends and preferences as we embark on our fifth year with the Singapore market. Equipped with enhanced security features, the improved app and modernised physical card is part of YouTrip’s ongoing efforts to build a secure, borderless multi-currency e-wallet that promises the best rates, all day,” said Caecilia Chu, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTrip.
What is YouTrip?
YouTrip 2.0's new look.
If you’re less familiar with YouTrip or its competition, here’s what you need to know.
YouTrip is an e-wallet-with-card platform designed to make holiday shopping or spending easier. You put money into YouTrip like any e-wallet through your home currency. It holds multiple currencies in one wallet, and the 150 currencies it supports can be swapped around freely within the app — no exchange fees there. Users make payments via their physical, YouTrip-branded Mastercard card.
Currency exchange rates are reflected in real-time, at the point of payment. Money is deducted from YouTrip’s e-wallet balance, which is stored separately and independently from all your other bank accounts, cards, or e-wallets. The interface also shows your spending history in two currencies: the local currency and your home currency.
Before the YouTrip 2.0 update, signing up for the e-wallet requires a few steps with minor caveats around its usage. First, the YouTrip physical Mastercard card takes up to 12 working days to be mailed to you, and the physical card is needed for any offline or online payments.
Second, like most other bank cards that support overseas ATM withdrawals, the old YouTrip card is still subject to bank fees and dynamic currency conversion (DCC).
Third, the old YouTrip physical card can’t be tied to your phone’s payment communicator, such as Apple Pay. You could store the YouTrip card as a payment option with individual merchant apps or sites you trust (like Grab), but it doesn’t act like a full credit/debit card for Apple Pay.
We mentioned these old things because YouTrip 2.0 seeks to change all of that.
What’s new to YouTrip 2.0?
YouTrip's new UI, featuring the dual-lock kill-switch, along with an example of its new virtual card.
YouTrip 2.0 now comes with a virtual card alongside its physical card, once a new user applies for it and gets approved.
By virtue of its digital nature, the virtual card arrives before the physical card does. Users can make digital payments ahead of the physical card’s arrival at their doorstep.
The virtual card comes with a different 16-digit PAN number. It can be locked, terminated, or replaced instantly.
The cards are compatible with Apple Pay (from Q3 2023 onwards).
Effectively, every YouTrip user has one virtual and one physical card with the YouTrip e-wallet, giving them multiple avenues to access the multi-currency funds inside.
To address the addition of a virtual card, YouTrip also upgraded its card-lock feature to a dual-lock kill switch instead. A YouTrip user can lock or terminate either card independently without affecting the other option, allowing you to access your holiday funds even if one card’s number is compromised for any reason.
The physical card also gets an upgrade to its features. From 15 June 2023 onwards, the physical card now has a waiver on overseas ATM withdrawal fees. YouTrip users can withdraw up to S$400 from overseas ATMs in one calendar month without incurring fees. You could withdraw more than that, but withdrawal fees apply after your first S$400. Also, you still have to pick “withdraw in local currency” to avoid DCC, but that shouldn’t be a problem for frequent travellers.
Finally, the YouTrip app and physical cards are getting mild aesthetic upgrades. YouTrip claimed that the changes reflect its brand’s limitless possibilities users can experience with their travel payments platform.
To summarise the changes, we’ve tabled them below for reference:
Old YouTrip (before 12 June 2023) | YouTrip 2.0 (as of 12 June 2023 onwards) |
Single physical Mastercard card to access YouTrip funds. | Same physical card withaddedvirtual card access to funds. Different 16-digit PANon both cards. |
Simple lock feature for its old one-card system. | Dual-lock kill-switch feature for independent controls on physical and virtual cards. |
ATM fees apply for overseas ATM withdrawals. | (As of 15 June 2023) Fee waiver for overseas ATM withdrawals, up to the first S$400 in the calendar month. |
Physical card is incompatible with Apple Pay or Google Pay. | Both card works with Apple Pay(Q3 2023)and Google Pay (Dec 2023). |
Original UI since its launch. | New UI to accommodate new virtual card and other UX-friendly changes. |
YouTrip Best Rates Boss campaign
YouTrip's Best Rates Boss campaign.
To celebrate the launch of YouTrip 2.0, the firm is running a contest to promote the changes. From now until 12 August 2023, one winner will be selected as YouTrip’s “Best Rates Boss” title, and the winner gets one set of round-trip tickets with Singapore Airlines and S$5,000 YouTrip spending credits.
Terms and conditions apply; more information can be found on the campaign page here.
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