New travel cash card from STA

STA Travel has introduced a new travel cash card to give travellers more security and a way to control their spending while on holiday.

The MasterCard prepaid card contains money available in an 'eccount', which can be managed online, on a mobile phone or by phone 24 hours a day.

It is claimed the card will help travellers avoid overspending or running into debt and will also offer another level of reassurance for parents of gap year holidaymakers.

Money earned while travelling can be paid directly into the account and it can also be topped up by someone in the UK.

Cardholders can text instructions via their mobile phone to the account, including "block" to temporarily lock their card, "unblock" to re-activate it and "lost" or "stolen" to stop all use.

Free SMS alerts will be sent to mobiles when the card balance is low and needs topping-up. These services are also available online.

The new card is available from STA Travel branches, online through the website or from STA Travel call centres.