EF Explore America, a leading educational travel company within the United States, and Till Financial, a leading family banking platform for kids and teens, have expanded their partnership to now service international trips with EF Educational Tours, providing the same cashless solution leveraged domestically for international student tour offerings.

EF Explore America and Till Financial began their partnership in 2022, to bring a safe and secure cashless solution to traveling students while incorporating financial learning moments and financial literacy. Till's debit card and app enables both parents and EF tour group leaders to easily transfer funds to students while on tour, managing their spending for meals, souvenirs, and other travel expenses.

Till's debit card solution now enables EF student travelers to go cashless during both domestic U.S. and overseas international tours. As a benefit of the partnership with EF Educational Tours, Till is waiving foreign transaction fees for students using Till for the duration of their tour, as well as providing curated financial literacy resources to prepare students for spending abroad.

"Travel itself is one of the greatest educational moments a student can experience - learning more about the world around them and more about themselves as someone seeking to become a more confident, independent person. EF Education First is always looking for ways to innovate the travel and learning experience across all our businesses, seeking out new ways we can teach students real life skills, including financial management through this partnership with Till Financial," said Kate Berseth, Executive Vice President, EF Education First. "Our mission as a company is to open the world through education, which is also why we are so proud of the work we are doing to make financial literacy such an important part of the travel experience for these students."

"At Till, we combine traditional book learning with real-world experiences. By tailoring financial literacy content to key life milestones and delivering that content in a format that engages both parents and kids, we make the learning experience more positive and lasting for the entire family." said Taylor Burton, CEO, Till Financial. "We view this partnership as a natural fit. Pairing our fee-free app and debit card with EF's global youth tourism business removes one of the many stressors involved in traveling far from home, while providing kids with an invaluable learning experience and parents with insight into every transaction." 

Financial Literacy

Not only has the partnership between Till and EF allowed trips to go cashless and solve historical pain points around accounting and money movement, Till also provides EF student travelers and their families with custom financial literacy resources, personalized for their trip experience. For many students, a trip with EF might be the first time they've managed money or used a debit card. The programming offered by Till teaches students about the spending realities they'll face while traveling, including essential tips around sales tax and tipping, dynamic currency conversion and understanding of international fees—with the goal of empowering students with the right financial skills and knowledge before, during, and long after their tour.

In addition to the financial literacy resources provided to students and their families before and after trips, Till and EF have partnered with FitMoney, a philanthropic nonprofit providing free, unbiased K-12 financial education resources to educators and caregivers for classrooms of all kinds with flexible and asynchronous lesson plans to fit any schedule.