Traveler's Check: Overview, Uses, Alternatives

What Is a Traveler's Check?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Jan 8, 2026 at 10:10 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Traveler's checks are secure, replaceable, and not linked to bank accounts, preventing identity theft.
They are becoming less popular, replaced by debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid travel cards.
Modern alternatives, like digital payments and prepaid cards, offer similar security without personal data exposure.

There was a time when traveling was much more difficult than it is today, and accessing your own money from overseas was almost impossible if you ran short. That's why James C. Fargo, a 19th-century president of American Express (AXP -0.08%), invented the traveler's check. Read on to learn more about these important pieces of living financial history.

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Various travel-related items spilled out of a suitcase. — Image source: Getty Images.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Kristi Waterworth has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short March 2026 $65 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.