N&P urges ‘go for Gold' as the Olympic countdown begins

With one year to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics on 27th July, N&P (Norwich and Peterborough Building Society) is urging current account holders to go for Gold and switch to an N&P Gold Classic current account.

The current account, which has a debit card that does not charge for overseas ATM withdrawals or point of sale transactions, could save families a significant amount of money on their travels, and has raised the bar by providing free Sentinel Gold cover for their cards and keys, should they be lost or stolen.

Ewan Edwards, head of current accounts at N&P, said: "Those who are going overseas this summer should get into the Olympic spirit and go for Gold. The motto of the Olympic movement is Citius, Altius, Fortius - Faster Higher Stronger - but those who are going on holiday without an N&P debit card are likely to come back poorer. A family using a debit card to withdraw local currency from an ATM, and for other point of sale transactions, could see them paying up to £70* in fees over a two week trip.

"An extra £70 that isn't accounted for in spending money could make or break some people's finances when they return from their trip. If they have not budgeted carefully and are near to an unauthorised overdraft, this could lead to sizeable knock-on fees. It is quite simple to switch, and big name banks who impose these fees could find they are for the high jump." 

According to recent figures from The UK Cards Association, a massive £27.5 billion worth of transactions were carried out abroad with UK plastic in 2010, with over £7.2 billion being withdrawn from cash machines outside of the UK. The UK Cards Association has also seen a 364% increase in debit card use overseas in the last decade.