Britons could be paying more at ATMs since Brexit

Withdrawing money abroad has become more expensive for Britons since Brexit and the recent economic turmoil.

Express.co.uk spoke to Alana Parsons, chief operation officer at Caxton, a currency card company to find out why and how Britons can avoid the charges.

Alana told Express.co.uk : “Prior to the economic turbulence we’ve faced over the last few years, it was much more common to find ATMs abroad that didn’t charge people access to their money.

“Of those that did, we would typically see a small fee around 1.50 euros (£1.29) being charged, irrespective of the amount.”

These also tended to be independent, stand-alone machines rather than ATMs run by local banks.

“Today, holidaymakers are struggling to find an ATM abroad that doesn’t charge a withdrawal fee. We’ve also seen a hike in what those charges are and, in some cases, this could be as high as five euros (£4.30) – even if you are only withdrawing a very small amount of money.”

Tourists could be forced to pay a high fee to withdraw cash on top of any conversion charges from their bank.

Alana added: “Brexit had a huge impact on the fees being levied. The moment we left the EU, we saw a significant shift-change in which banks were charging and how much.

“This has had an impact on ATM usage over the last seven years and we’ve noticed over a 40 percent decrease.

“Of course, this will be linked to the pandemic due to travel restrictions, but today it is because those travelling abroad are much more conscious of counting their pennies to ensure they’re not wasting money on unnecessary or avoidable charges abroad.”

According to Caxton’s research, UK travellers could lose £60million in ATM and card transaction charges this year.

Alana recommends changing money before travelling to avoid having to use an ATM for withdrawals.

She also told Express.co.uk Britons should take a currency card on holiday to avoid having to use ATMs as well as high conversion fees.

She added: “The pandemic saw a shift in the way shops and restaurants process payments, even in the most remote areas, making it much easier to use cards instead of cash.

“We’d recommend avoiding those withdrawal fees altogether by ordering cash for home delivery prior to departure if an absolute necessity.”