Iran has initiated a scheme to provide travel money cards for outbound tourists with the first prepaid card issued for First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri on Sunday.
According to Ali Asghar Mounesan, the head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, the plan is aimed at controlling the outflow of foreign currency via travelers. "Iranians often carry dollar and euro bills with them when they travel abroad which puts the country's banking system under considerable pressure," he was quoted as saying by ICANA.
Mounesan did not specify which banks had cooperated in launching the scheme.
Prepaid travel cards enable travelers to load a sum before going abroad and then use them as a debit card to spend or withdraw cash in foreign currency. Some also allow users to lock in a rate in advance.
The project will facilitate money transfer for Iranians but foreigners who travel to Iran still have to carry large amounts of cash with them because Iran is not linked to international cash cards such as Visa and MasterCard. Mounesan said both popular cards are linked to American financial services firms which do not cooperate with Iran even after the 2015 nuclear deal that has paved the way for the country's gradual reintegration into international financial systems.
Alternative Solutions
However, alternative solutions have been proposed.
"We are making efforts to provide a mechanism by which tourists can receive rial-denominated cash cards at airport in return for their foreign currency, spend the money in Iran and take back the remaining amount upon return to their country," Mounesan said. He did not provide any details as to what currencies can be exchanged for rial cards and how the exchange rate will be calculated.
ICHHTO is negotiating the plan with the Central Bank of Iran at the moment.
Mounesan hoped that it will take the plan more seriously because this is one of the main obstacles weighing on the country's tourism sector.