• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Martin Lewis warns holidaymakers against accepting currency conversion on cash machine abroad

Home> News

Updated 10:04 21 Jun 2023 GMT+1Published 09:13 21 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Martin Lewis warns holidaymakers against accepting currency conversion on cash machine abroad

If you're heading off on your hols soon there's something you need to be aware of

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

If you're heading off abroad on your holidays this summer, then Martin Lewis has a warning about accepting currency conversion on cash machines abroad.

The money saving expert has come up with a new warning which could save Brits abroad plenty of their own money, and it's all to do with trying to take out some cash.

If you're abroad and need to get some money out, your first thought is to head to a cash machine - but it's important not to fall foul of extra charges that could whittle down your bank balance.

Advert

The first thing he recommends you check is whether there's a fee to make a withdrawal from a cash machine, as one of the ATMs he tried in his experiment wanted to charge him €7 to take out money.

Martin Lewis warned Brits abroad about hidden charges which could soon stack up.
ITV

Next, he warned that on top of the exchange rate involved with converting currency, many cash machines charge a mark-up fee to scoop out a little bit of extra dough from the transaction.

In his experiment, he showed what it was like to get €200 of cash out from three machines in Malaga, with the exchange rate expected to give him a pile of money worth about £169.

The cheapest of the cash machines he tried gave him the equivalent of that, but the most expensive one would have cost him around £191 with all the extra charges.

Advert

He said: "It says there is a mark-up fee of 4.5 percent, so they are adding a 4.5 percent load on top of the exchange rate.

"You do not want this machine to do the conversion for you. I want your card company at home to do the conversion."

"You want your card company at home to do the conversion because, even if it's not a good card, it's a better rate. Continue with conversion? No way, it's going to cost me 20 quid more than it should."

Jetting off on holiday? Be careful when taking cash out.
Pexels

When you're converting your cash at a machine abroad, the recommendation is to avoid hitting the button to agree to the first offer of a conversion rate as it'll almost certainly be higher than whatever extra charge you end up paying.

Advert

Lewis recommended that people wanting to head on their holidays and have a minimum of fuss about money should 'let your card do the conversion' and just pay for things with your credit or debit card in the local currency.

He recommended looking into how much your card would charge you for these types of transactions and on his site had some suggestions for the ones you could go for which would minimise charges for spending abroad.

Featured Image Credit: MoneySavingExpert.com / Andy Gibson / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: UK News, Martin Lewis, Travel, Money

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 mins ago
16 mins ago
2 hours ago
  • 3 mins ago

    Doctor explains key signs that your 'hay fever' is actually new Covid strain

    The emergence of the new Covid strain has coincided with hay fever season

    News
  • 16 mins ago

    Average penis size in UK as urologist explains truth behind 'Ozempic penis'

    Could the GLP-1 drug be playing a part in the UK's new average penis size?

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Billionaire will leave £10 billion fortune to 100 children he has all around the world

    How do I find out if i'm part of his army of kids?

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Brits issued major warning over 'most important threat to health' that will lead to 30,000 deaths in 2025

    It affects pretty much everybody in the world

    News
  • Five conditions to be eligible for £100,000,000 Mastercard payout as Martin Lewis MSE issues update
  • Martin Lewis issued warning to people about using air fryers instead of ovens to cook food
  • Martin Lewis warns millions of Brits who bought cars before 2021 they could be owed thousands
  • Martin Lewis issues warning to every Brit going on holiday this year