Travelex India
TRAVELEX PRESS RELEASE
Busy British families pay millions too much for holiday money
Date : April, 2007
Time strapped British families heading abroad for their holiday this summer will add nearly £100 pound to the cost of their trip because they fail to get the best out of their foreign exchange, according to research carried out by foreign exchange specialist Travelex.
The research has revealed that, of all those taking a foreign holiday abroad, families are the most vulnerable to the risks of buying foreign currency because they are the most time pressured when it comes to planning their trip. Hidden charges, large commission fees, poor exchange rates and, overall, a failure to shop around are adding a significant amount to the total cost of the family holiday abroad.
According to the survey, only one family in ten will shop around for the best holiday money deals due to time constraints. On a transaction changing £500 into Euros, the most commonly bought currency, Travelex’s research shows that the return can vary by as much £55 depending on where the deal is done and whether the Euros are bought using cash or a credit card.
Travelex’s research, gathered on 11th April 2007 shows the cost of not shopping around:
| FX providers | Euro rate | Commissions | Handling Fees | Delivery charges | Number of Euros |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelex.co.uk | 1.4188 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 709.40 |
| Lloyds TSB | 1.386 | £0.00 | £4.95 | £0.00 | 693 |
| Post Office | 1.386 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 693 |
| Onlinefx.co.uk | 1.4150 | £0.00 | £5.00 | £4.95 | 704.35 |
| www.postoffice.co.uk | 1.3861 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 693.05 |
| American Express | 1.390 | £5.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 696.81 |
| interchangefx.co.uk | 1.4250 | £0.00 | £4.95 | £0.00 | 709.35 |
| Currency-Express.com | 1.4060 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 705 |
| Marks & Spencer | 1.4060 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 705 |
| Thomas Cook | 1.390 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 695 |
| The Change Group* | 1.4 | £55 | £0.00 | £0.00 | 664.96 |
*The service is only commission free if you pay in cash for the currency – paying by Switch card or any other credit/debit card means an 11% commission.
Families are advised to ‘keep an eye on’ exchange rates in the months leading up to the date that they plan to travel. Families can save between £15 - £25 if they buy at the right time. For example tourists travelling to the States this summer could have saved £21.62 ($45) by purchasing their travel money last month, when the rate peaked at 1.96, rather than in October 2006, when the rate was at a low at 1.865. Conversely, the Euro experienced a dip during the summer holiday season last year when the rate fell to a low of 1.45. Buying in February, when the rate was at a high of 1.47, could have saved an extra £7 (10 Euro).
John Nicholas, UK Retail Director, Travelex comments: “Keeping an eye on the rates can definitely pay off. For those that can access the internet, Travelex provides an online rate tracker that will send updates on exchange rate movements. Beyond that, checking rates in the newspapers is a simple way of keeping track or simply shopping around, being aware of the pitfalls and considering the benefits of ordering online, can all offer substantial savings on the foreign exchange.”
The opportunities offered online are also being missed with only 25 per cent of those questioned likely to use the Internet to get their holiday money. Travelex’s data shows that buying online can save as much as £55 on a £500 transaction compared to buying on the high street.
Almost all respondents (92 per cent) believed that commission free deals offered the best value for money. Yet Travelex’s research has found that commission free deals often hide an uncompetitive exchange rate and can vary by more than £10.00 depending on which retailer is chosen.
In many cases it is the ‘time strapped’ family that will leave sorting out the money until they arrive abroad. Almost half (48 per cent) of those questioned rely entirely on withdrawals from ATM machines on a foreign holiday because they don’t have the time to get the money before they go. ATM withdrawal charges vary but average at around £3.00 per transaction. According to research by Travelex, holidaymakers using ATM machines will make on average 5 withdrawals per trip, adding a further £15 to the cost of the holiday. Holiday makers are also often hit by poor exchange rates when withdrawing from an ATM.
Nicholas added: “In total, families could add over £100 to the cost of their holiday because they leave the money to the last minute or they don’t look closely enough at the deal they are getting. With more than 800,000 British families heading abroad this summer, this adds up to more than £80 million that could be saved. That’s one very good reason to take the time to get your foreign exchange right.”
- Ends -
For Further Information:
A full breakdown of the exchange deals available at www.travelex.co.uk and comparison to all major competitors is available on request.
| Chris Hides | Alexandra Blundell |
| chrish@talkpr.com 0207 544 3691 07808 734624 |
alexb@talkpr.com 0207 543 4735 0777 591 6663 |
About Travelex:
Travelex is the world's largest foreign exchange specialist with over 700 retail branches and 16,000 business customers. There are retail branches at key airport, seaport and rail locations, in addition to tourist and business centres around the world. Over 40% of travellers and 1.5 billion passengers pass through airports at which the business operates including the major gateways at London, New York, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Sydney.
Travelex is also the world's largest non-bank provider of international payment services, providing integrated payment solutions for businesses. The group is also one of the world's leading providers of outsourced travel money to banks, travel agencies and other financial institutions and one of the world's oldest issuers of Travellers Cheques.