NatWest warns customers who take debit or credit card away with them

Consumers are losing over £17m a year by choosing to pay in pounds rather than the local currency when using credit and debit cards abroad, NatWest has found.

NatWest has issued a warning to customers who take their debit or their credit card away with them on holiday. Consumers are losing over £17m a year by choosing to pay in pounds rather than the local currency when using credit and debit cards abroad, NatWest has found.

The figure is likely to be higher as this only accounts for the top five spending categories, ATM, accommodation, restaurants, duty free and groceries. Mystery shopper research was carried out on behalf of NatWest in countries around the world and found it was always cheaper to pay in the local currency.

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.

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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.”

Customers who have a NatWest Reward Silver, Reward Platinum, Premier Select, Premier Reward Black or Black Account, have fee-free debit card spending on purchases when abroad, while ATM cash withdrawals carry a 2.75% fee. Customers who prefer the peace of mind of purchasing euros ahead of a trip, at the provided exchange rate at the time, can use the Travel account option.

It comes as the bank, which is rivalled by the likes of Santander, HSBC UK, Nationwide, TSB and more, announced a progress update on its ambition to provide £5 billion in new lending to the UK social housing sector, with the bank confirming £2.8 billion has already been provided up to 31 August 2024.