This week in banking - All things Coronavirus from travel insurance to credit cards

• Travel insurance: Keeping up with Coronavirus 
• Got credit card travel insurance: are you covered for Coronavirus? 
• Coronavirus: what it means if you want to make an International Money Transfer 
• Heard of the Coronavirus stimulus package: here’s what it means for small businesses 
• AUD hit hard by the Coronavirus: should you lock in a foreign exchange rate now?
• Interested in other non-coronavirus banking news? Here’s a roundup

All in this week’s banking recap. 

Coronavirus and travel insurance: have you kept up? 

It’s muddy territory when it comes to the future of Coronavirus (COVID-19), leaving many Aussies scratching their heads about what the outbreak of the disease means for their travel plans. 

And one of the main questions floating around at the moment is: am I covered for Coronavirus under my travel insurance policy? 

Well, unfortunately, there is a bit of grey area when it comes to insurance - whether that’s medical cover or cancellation cover. 

In some cases insurers will cover you if you booked and paid for your trip before January 2020, but in others any financial losses as a result of epidemics or pandemics, or breached quarantine won’t be covered at all. 

Read full article: Keeping up with the Coronavirus to find out which travel insurers cover Coronavirus. 

Does credit card travel insurance cover Coronavirus?

Complimentary travel insurance is a great feature to any credit card, but with the breakout of Coronavirus this feature may not be so shiny anymore. 

In short, if you are relying on credit card travel insurance for your future travel plans, you may want to ready up on your policy. 

Depending on the credit card provider (and their insurance underwriter), some have restrictions on the level of cover they will provide when it comes to the infamous Coronavirus or COVID-19.  

Like regular travel insurance, there may be a timeframe where you are covered - like if you booked your holiday before January 2020 - while some others won’t cover any losses due to pandemics or epidemics. 

Read full article: Are you covered for Coronavirus under your credit card travel insurance? for a breakdown of what major credit card providers say about what they do and don’t cover under complimentary travel insurance. 

Meet the Coronavirus stimulus package for small businesses 

Yesterday, the Federal Government announced a stimulus package which is aimed to help relieve small business’ financial stress as a result of the outbreak of Coronavirus. 

The package will provide $17.6 billion worth of tax breaks and subsidies to small businesses that have been hit, in order to help them stay afloat. 

It’s predicted that this new stimulus package will benefit 700,000 small and medium size businesses across the country and 7.8 million workers. 

Read full article: What the coronavirus stimulus package will mean for Aussie small businesses to check out more of what small businesses will receive. 

Sending money overseas? Here’s how to save it amongst Coronavirus panic

For Aussies making international money transfers (IMT), now’s the time to be extra careful with your hard earned cash! 

The Australian dollar has dropped dramatically as the Coronavirus crisis grows and spreads, meaning people could lose hundreds of dollars (compared to previous levels) when exchanging their AUD to foreign currencies. 

Recent data from IMT provider Send FX showed that the AUD and USD pairing fell a massive 4.52% at the beginning of the week. 

So what does that mean? Well, say you exchanged $10,000 AUD to USD after Monday’s movements - you could see a possible loss of around $US300 on your international transfer. 

Read full article: How to rescue your international money transfer from coronavirus panic and discover the handy features offered by IMT providers to help protect your cash! 

Coronavirus AUD struggle: Why you should consider locking in an exchange rate now on your prepaid travel card

Whether it’s the bushfires, RBA cuts or the latest Coronavirus hysteria, the Aussie dollar is struggling (at the lowest point it’s been in 11 years), with no indication of when it will strengthen. 

On March 11, 2020, the Australian dollar sat at 65.05 US cents, whereas six months prior on September 11, 2019, it sat at 68.75. 

So if you are planning to travel in the near or far future, it may be worth considering a prepaid travel card as your travel money option - so you can protect yourself if the dollar drops even further.  

The benefit of these cards, in comparison to a regular debit card, is that you can lock in a rate before you leave, so that every time you top up the card you receive the original rate rather than whatever the exchange rate is on the day.  

Read full article: Prepaid travel cards: Should you lock in a foreign exchange rate now? for the latest RBA data on foreign exchange rates and more on how prepaid travel cards work. 

In other Non-Coronavirus banking news… 

While Coronavirus is a hot topic in the news at the moment, other things have happened in the world of banking that you don’t want to miss! 

Here’s a rundown: 

• Remember the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate cut last week? Well, 52 lenders in the Mozo database have cut rates over the past two weeks. Read full article: Which banks have cut savings rates following the March RBA decision? for more. 
• Popular online bank, ING, has celebrated 20 years in Australia, plus it hit 2.6 million customers across Australia! Read full article: ING reports record customer growth on 20th anniversary! for more. 
• Need a helping hand going greener? Meet the green personal loans which are set to help Aussies cover eco-related expenses. Read full article: What is a green personal loan and where can I get one in 2020? for more. 
• Aussies under 25 lost over $5 million to scams in 2019, says the ACCC, and the number is set to rise again this year. Read full article: Gen Z falling victim to scams at alarming rate, finds ACCC for more. 
• If you have a wedding coming up this month, but need a little extra financial boost, a personal loan may be the answer! Read full article: Hear wedding bells? It may be time to consider a personal loan for your big day for more. 
• Suncorp has waved goodbye to all account keeping fees across it’s deposit accounts. Read full article: Suncorp ditches account keeping fees on ALL deposit accounts for more. 

Want to find out how other bank accounts compare? Check out the table below or jump over to our bank account comparison tool.