Money withdrawal warning for half-term holidaymakers

Holidaymakers going abroad over the half-term break relying on prepaid currency cards to withdraw cash are being hit in the pocket, according to Sainsbury’s Travel Money, whose research reveals  that two thirds (65.3%) of these cards charge customers to access their money abroad.

Sainsbury’s Travel Money says that while it's commonly accepted that you may pay a fee or a minimum charge for withdrawing cash abroad using a debit or credit card, travellers may not realise that the majority of prepaid currency cards also levy individual transaction fees.

The supermarket bank offers a Cash Passport prepaid MasterCard currency card that you can load with your spending money in the UK and withdraw foreign currency from ATMs free of charge abroad.

David Barrett of Sainsbury’s Travel Money, said: “Using debit or credit cards abroad can be costly as a number of providers can charge fees purely to access your own cash and that’s before looking at other incurred costs. Indeed there are only a handful of prepaid currency cards, such as our own Cash Passport™, that don’t charge withdrawal fees at overseas ATMs, which can help avoid any unwanted surprise additions on your bill when you return home.”

“Prepaid currency cards can be an excellent way to make your money go that little bit further, providing you choose carefully. It’s important to shop around and know what you’re getting, as many people get stung by charges they weren’t anticipating. As a result, those who withdraw smaller sums from ATMs on a frequent basis could be paying well over the odds for their holiday cash.”

In addition to Cash Passport Sainsbury's Travel Money also offers benefits and services such as 0% commission on foreign currency, competitive rates and next-day delivery to the customer’s billing address on foreign currency, if ordered online before 2pm from Monday to Thursday, plus free delivery is available for online and phone orders over £500.

To find out more about Sainsbury’s Travel Money, visit sainsburysbank.co.uk.