No1 Currency: 'British Holidaymakers Waste £784m on Card Charges Every Year'

EDINBURGH, England--(Business Wire)--
No1 Currency estimates Britons wasted £784m on overseas credit and debit card
charges last year.

Last month The UK Cards Association revealed that in 2008 Britons used their
plastic for £27.8 billion worth of overseas transactions - £19.9 billion on
credit and debit card purchases and £7.9 billion withdrawn from cash machines.
This constitutes a rise of just over ten percent on 2007`s figure.

With typical fees of 2.75% on overseas purchases and 3% for ATM cash withdrawals
abroad (source: MoneySavingExpert.com), No1 Currency estimates British
holidaymakers squandered an eye-watering £784m on credit and debit card charges
last year.

No1 Currency is the UK`s fastest-growing chain of Bureau de Change outlets.
Since the turn of the year, No1 Currency has opened 47 new branches across the
UK taking the total number of bureaus to 320. Their rapid growth has been
fuelled largely by word-of-mouth recommendation for consistently offering the
best rates on the high street and 0% commission. Both MoneySavingExpert.com and
Which? recently recommended No1 Currency to their respective readers.

"Recession-hit British holidaymakers are more price-conscious than ever before,"
says No1 Currency Sales & Marketing Director Colin McLauchlin. "Our business is
booming because more and more Brits are choosing to take cash abroad, which
isn`t surprising when you consider the fees and charges associated with using
plastic."

It isn`t only the standard 2.75% `load` fee charged by credit and debit card
providers that many travellers are unaware of. Debit cards often carry a
flat-fee penalty for spending money. For example, every time you spend money on
a Halifax debit card, it adds £1.50 per transaction (source:
MoneySavingExpert.com). Furthermore, many credit cards accrue higher rates of
interest for spending abroad and it`s applied immediately, regardless of whether
the bill is paid by the end of the month or not.

"With the weakening of the Pound, unemployment and the credit crunch, 2009 is a
tough year for Brits who want some guaranteed sunshine this summer," says Colin
McLauchlin. "It`s little wonder, therefore, that many holidaymakers are saying
`no` to excessive card charges and choosing to take cash currency instead."

For further information, photos and interviews, please contact:
Ubiquity Comms Ltd for No1 Currency
Sami McCabe
t: +44 (0) 20 3393 8277
m: +44 (0) 7789 777 440
e: sami@ubiquitycomms.com
http://twitter.com/ubiquitycomms

Copyright Business Wire 2009