Foreign currency no longer dominating the nation's holiday wallets

Research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks has revealed a change in holiday spending habits, with foreign currency no longer dominating the nation's holiday wallets.

With autumn fast approaching, parents up and down the country may be relishing the idea of getting away for some sun when the next school holidays come along, but the ‘mixed purse' approach to holiday and travel spending means many people will typically do the bulk of their buying on a pre-loaded currency card, and take a reduced amount of currency.

"People's holiday spending habits have changed significantly over the past few years or so," said Andrew Pearce, Retail Director at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.

"Whereas five years ago queuing to cash in travellers cheques with your passport in hand at the hotel reception was the done thing, nowadays people don't want to have to wait.

"In the first four months after introducing our prepaid card in May, an average of £493 was being pre-loaded onto a currency card with the amount of foreign currency being ordered dropping by 15% to £626 as a result," he said.

The Banks' Prepaid Currency Card, which is in partnership with Access Prepaid, a division of MasterCard, is available in Sterling, Euros or US Dollars.

"We recently carried out a survey into the public's relationship with cash and found that only 5% of people carried more than £50 in cash, so it's little surprise that we're seeing an increase of people using a currency card more than holiday cash," continued  Andrew.

"The Prepaid Currency Card is a great addition to anyone's holiday wallet as it can be used in so many outlets overseas, but it also has the added security benefits normally afforded to a credit card.  And it can be used as a budgeting tool as people can keep a track of their holiday spending online - wherever they may be," he said.

Customers can check their balance over the phone or online and funds can be topped-up over the phone, via internet banking or in branch. For added peace of mind, exchange rates are fixed from the time the cards are topped up - so you always know what rate you're paying.  An additional card is issued free of charge; and help is at hand 24/7 from trained advisers who can assist with issues from balance queries and PIN requests through to lost or stolen cards.

The Banks' Prepaid Currency Card is available to Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank customers and is the only prepaid travel card available from a High Street bank which is available instantly and without the need for additional application forms.  It can be used for online purchases and in more than 33 million locations across the globe which display the MasterCard acceptance mark.  It can also be used to withdraw cash from ATMs.

For more information on the Prepaid Currency card, visit your local Clydesdale or Yorkshire Bank branch or go to cbonline.co.uk or ybonline.co.uk.