Antonia Vanbergen is a 29-year-old financial controller from Kent. She's a frequent traveller and recently returned home from a big trip to the US. Given her profession and thirst for travel, we thought she'd be a good person to catch up with about her WeSwap experiences. We were right!
I manage to go on about three or four trips away every summer. The things that drive me to travel are experiencing new cultures, seeing the sights, tasting new foods and relaxing in different environments. I first heard about WeSwap online, organically on Google. I was really impressed that the rates were so much better than anywhere on the high street.
Using the mid-market exchange rate as the basis and then charging a flat fee seems a much fairer way of doing it. The other unique thing I like is that if you’re organised, you can do a 7-day swap, which results in less commission. I like having this option as it means that you benefit from doing things in advance which forces me to get organised. I also like how transparent the fees are – it shows you the likely amount of currency you’ll receive as you do the swap.
I’m completely new to having all my currency on a card so I'm enjoying not having to carry a wallet full of cash around. I also really appreciate having all my transactions recorded in a statement (ie. with cash you either have to keep the receipts, or just not keep track of what you’ve spent your money on). It's a completely up-to-date modern way of doing holiday currency.
Finally, we asked Antonia if she had any tips for travellers heading abroad, or any heading to her native Tunbridge Wells:
My favourite travel apps (other than WeSwap, of course!) are airline apps. Mainly for online check in which is super easy. You can also use an electronic boarding pass, rather than having to find a printer.
And you're coming for a day trip to Kent? My advice would be to bring an umbrella. Haha.
