When travelling, it can be difficult to manage spending due to currency conversions.
The golden rule of always paying in the local currency when using a debit or credit card abroad applies, but it can be hard to know how much this equates to when you’re making a quick purchase.
But it turns out, there is an app with a hidden function already installed on your phone.
Your mobile phone’s built-in calculator app can be used to convert currencies.
On iPhones and iPads, tap the ‘Calculator Mode’ button, turn on ‘Convert,’ then choose the currencies you want to convert from and to.
This update came with the iOS 18 update last September, but many people still haven’t heard about it.
There is also a similar feature on Windows, which can be enabled through settings.
On Windows, navigate to the navigation menu in the Calculator app and select ‘Currency’ to perform conversions.
The golden rule of always paying in the local currency when using a debit or credit card abroad applies, but it can be hard to know how much this equates to when you’re making a quick purchase
There is an app with a hidden function already installed on your phone. Your mobile phone’s built-in calculator app can be used to convert currencies
The Reddit user SkyInJapan shared this discovery on the channel r/JapanTravelTips in a post which has been upvoted more than 400 times.
One user commented: ‘Wait what?! That’s super convenient.’
Another added: ‘Dang… thank you!!!! This will save me lots of headache.’
‘Thanks for sharing! This is so handy, and even when I’m buying multiple things, you can add while converting, making the multi-use so useful,’ wrote another.
On other social media platforms, the discovery has been praised as a ‘game changer’ for foreign trips.
The TikTok user Charlie On His Travels shared a video showing people how to use the feature with the caption: ‘Why clutter your phone when you already have this handy tool built in?’
The user claims that the app uses Yahoo Finance to work out the conversion rates.
TikTok user Nikita’s Next Stop shared a similar video where she said: ‘If you’re a Type A traveller like me, you’ll love this hack which will save you money.
‘There’s a whole list of currencies here, including ones that I didn’t even know existed. The currencies are actually updated really regularly as well too, so they’re pretty accurate.’
This comes as some travellers may be asked to demonstrate sufficient financial in order to enter the Schengen area as part of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) rules.
The Schengen demand is: ‘Sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully.’
The basic principle is: ‘The assessment of sufficient means of subsistence may be based on the cash, travellers’ cheques and credit cards in the third-country national’s possession.’
Each of the 29 countries part of the new system – including 25 in the EU, plus Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland – will set its own rules on what it deems as ‘sufficient’. They may add extra conditions about accommodation and even travel insurance.
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The ‘game changer’ travel hack that uses an app already on your phone
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