How to ensure, that our wallet won’t be empty after traveling abroad? Are we aware of the total costs, concerning credit cards? Are phone calls within the entire EU as cheap, as in Poland. These questions are worth answering. Will the moment of paying our bills turnout to be an unpleasant surprise?
Since the beginning of the year, there have been debates concerning roaming rates in many EU member states. On the 15th of June, word became flesh. The European Union implemented new rules concerning roaming rates in all member states. From that day, the roam like at home rule has been established. Is that, however, completely true?
Phone calls are not entirely free
Without comprehensive knowledge concerning roaming, we can be easily disappointed when receiving the phone bill after we return from holidays. People, who used their mobile phones abroad, since the end of June, should pay less… in theory. Because most of us receive our pay check at the beginning or at the end of the month, we may end up being unpleasantly surprised. The prices of using a cell phone have indeed decreased, but surely they have not been removed completely. What has changed, is merely the principal concerning the usage of roaming, which form now on will be free from additional payments.
What needs to be stressed is the issue of data transfer. Due to the fact, that different prices per 1MB of data transfer occur in particular states, mobile network operators established limits concerning the amount of data transfer within the EU. For example, no-limit offer owners are entitled to only several gigabytes of data. Therefore it is essential to check with our mobile network operator, to what amount of internet data usage are we entitled abroad – says Robert Matyszewski, vice-president of an IT company – SoftwareHut.
Good views of the future
The process of implementation and standardization may last, yet even now telecommunication companies offer convenient solutions to their clients. All traveling to different countries on holidays, will be interested in the prices of international phone calls.
Incoming phone calls are free of charge, outgoing calls on the other hand are charged according to the basic national prices. Promotions, sms and data transfer packages still apply only to Polish territory, both for ordinary citizens, as well as private companies. – My company outsources employees to many countries, where we have our foreign business branches, like England, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland or Sweden, therefore cell phone communication is essential to us. The ideal state for us would be, where telecommunication services in other countries would be as cheap as in Poland. For now, we appreciate what we have – adds Matyszewski.
The differences between cards
We may also encounter financial problems during credit card payments for purchased services. A large group of people use cards every day and they don’t want to give this convenience up. When it comes to card payments, we have a choice to pay with national or foreign currency. Most of us instinctively choose the first option, hoping, that we can more accurately monitor the level of expenses in our own currency. It is worth remembering, that even if the bank will not charge us with provision for performed transactions, we still may have to finance the costs of currency conversion. To avoid such surprises, it is reasonable to obtain a card, which will allow paying in foreign currency. It is an ideal solution for people, who travel more often than just on vacation.
SoftwareHut’s employees often visit our foreign clients. During these meetings, business issues are the most important, therefore employees should not trouble themself with searching for ITM’s or calculating the currency rates. A currency bank account is an ideal solution for people, who often travel abroad. – says the vice-president of the IT company from Bialystok. – It is worth to remember, that such accounts are much more expensive to keep and connected with other additional costs, i.e. for credit card usage. Before starting our holidays, it is wise to calculate, which option suits us the most.
Summer trips are supposed to be a time of relax and regeneration for the rest of the year. Work travels, on the other hand, should serve the business. Taking this into consideration, it is wise to prepare ourselves, so that the financial issues will not spoil our vacation plans.
