- Holidaymakers losing £17m by spending in pounds abroad
- Customers are suffering from poor merchant conversion rates when choosing to pay in pounds rather than the local currency
- NatWest research reveals it is always cheaper for UK customers to pay in the local currency
- NatWest launches a new Travel account which enables customers to spend in euros using their card with no added fees, preventing customers potentially overpaying while abroad
- Spain is the top travel destination for NatWest customers
When abroad, holidaymakers are often given the option on a card terminal to pay either in pounds or the local currency. The exchange rate for paying in pounds is often far worse than paying in local currency and having the sum converted by your bank. The price difference can be substantial - with one accommodation provider in Spain marking the price up 13.4% when the customer chose to pay in pounds.
When travelling on a flight from Gatwick to Spain it was again found to be cheaper to pay in euros rather than pounds when given the option on the card terminal. For every transaction carried out as part of the research it was found that it is always cheaper to pay in the local currency.
Poland tops the table for the highest spend carried out in pounds rather than the local currency (77% of spend value), this is closely followed by Turkey (73%) and Sweden (68%).
Spain is the most popular destination, with one in five transactions taking place in the country. Over one in ten transactions (14%) could be more expensive due to paying in pounds rather than euros.
The new NatWest Travel account enables existing sole current account customers to set up a holiday spending pot and convert pounds to euros in the mobile app. Customers can then use their existing debit card to pay in euros, fee free and avoid merchant conversion fees.
Hazel Harper, International Payments NatWest said: “There’s one simple trick to saving on your holiday when you’re abroad and it’s by always choosing to pay in the local currency. Our research found that it could be up to 13% more expensive to pay in pounds which makes a big difference to the cost of a holiday.”
For more information on NatWest’s new Travel account visit www.natwest.com/travelaccount
