Plan your holiday spending now
With less than six weeks until the start of the school summer holidays, N&P (Norwich and Peterborough Building Society) is urging parents to act now to save themselves money when they go overseas this summer.
By switching current accounts now and using an N&P debit card on their travels, holidaymakers could save themselves almost £70 in fees over the course of a two week holiday compared to using cards from other providers, while retaining the security and convenience a debit card provides.
Research from N&P shows that a family using a debit card to withdraw money twice from an overseas ATM, alongside other purchases, could set you back between £43 and £68 in additional transaction and conversion fees. Additional research shows that only one per cent of people realise the true cost of withdrawing from an overseas ATM.
Ewan Edwards, head of current accounts at N&P, explained: "The busy summer holiday period is not that far away, but it can be a very costly time for holidaymakers, more so if they have a young family with them. At this time when many people are feeling the pinch, a set of transaction fees approaching £70 from their holiday payments could make a serious dent in their finances when they return.
"An extra £70 not accounted for in spending money could make or break some people's finances when they return from their hols. If they have not budgeted carefully and are near to an unauthorised overdraft, this could lead to sizeable knock-on fees. With only one per cent of people realising the true cost of withdrawing money from an overseas ATM, the risk of that is significant."
Ewan Edwards continues: "For others, avoiding £70 in fees on their holiday means they might choose to 1) take the family on an extra excursion; 2) put it towards their next holiday; or 3) simply be pleased that their money remains in their own pocket rather than lining the pockets of a bank and its shareholders.
"Now is the perfect time for people to switch their current account to be able to make good use of our fee-free debit card. The sooner people switch to a better value account, the sooner they will be able to make some very important holiday savings."
Top reasons why using an N&P debit card overseas could be the best form of payment on holiday:
Security: Eliminates the need to travel with lots of cash, find a safe place to store it, or withdraw one large amount from an overseas ATM to minimise the impact of withdrawal fees;
Simple: One card can cover restaurant and bar bills, shopping, excursions and other day-to-day expenses, and fee-free regardless of the price of the purchase;
Convenience: Withdraw cash from ATMs as and when you need to without worrying that you will be accumulating charges every time you do so;
Flexible: No need to worry about arrangements to obtain different currencies if you are travelling to more than one country, as N&P's debit card can be used worldwide;
No post-holiday surprises: Debit card payments will come out of your account within days, not leaving you with a surprise credit card bill weeks later.