Beware of excessive – and avoidable – fees when abroad, warns deVere CEO

Holidaymakers, expats and internationally-mobile individuals could unknowingly be adding up to 10 per cent to their costs when abroad.

This is the warning from the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial services organisations.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, is speaking out a month ahead of the start of peak travel season, which is usually defined as mid-June through August.

Mr Green says: “Holidaymakers, expats and internationally-mobile individuals could unknowingly be adding up to 10 per cent to their costs when they are abroad.

“When you pay on your debit or credit card abroad – in hotels, airports, bars, restaurants and shops, for example – in anything other than your destination’s local currency, you could be paying excessive exchange fees.

“As an expat myself, and as someone who travels internationally a lot for my work, I am speaking from experience.

“Merchants typically add an extra 6 per cent on top, but these fees can be up to 10 per cent. All too often the customer is completely unaware of these costs.

“We believe this is wrong.”

He continues: “We believe that in this increasingly globalised world people have the right to expect hassle-free, borderless access to and use of their money, without excessive exchange rates.

“This is why last year we launched deVere Vault.”

deVere Vault is an innovative global currency app as well as a single, multi-currency, Mastercard Prepaid card.

It automatically pays in Sterling in the UK, U.S. Dollars in the States, Euros in the eurozone, and Swiss Francs in Switzerland.

Users can convert foreign exchange in up to 27 different currencies within the app with the swipe of their finger and make a bank payment in any of these currencies, anywhere within the global banking system from within the app.

The multi-currency account also allows you to withdraw and spend money anywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted.

In a survey carried out by deVere last summer, 91 per cent of respondents said that the fees for using their traditional bank debit/credit card overseas were “unacceptably high.”

Mr Green concludes: “You no longer need to put up with astronomical charges for using your own money when you are overseas.

“You should expect to have access to and management and use of your money wherever you are in the world with no stress, no hassle and no hidden charges.”