APACS and ABTA issue payments advice as UK travellers use their cards for half of all overseas spending

APACS logo for press releases2

Monday, 19, May 2008 12:00

- UK plastic cards used over 300 million times in overseas transactions last year

- APACS and ABTA issue timely advice for UK consumers travelling

abroad this summer

APACS, the UK payments association, and ABTA, the travel association, have today (19 May 2008) published a consumer advice guide – Using your plastic overseas – which provides tips and useful information for holidaymakers and business travellers who will be using their cards abroad this summer.

APACS statistics show that there were 309 million overseas transactions on UK-issued cards last year (three per cent of all transactions on UK-issued cards). In fact using a card is so popular amongst British travellers that, in 2007, card purchases accounted for 50 per cent of all overseas spending . Last year Britons used their cards for overseas transactions totalling £25.2 billion - £18.1 billion on credit and debit card purchases and £7.1 billion on cash taken out of overseas cash machines.

Available from www.choosingandusing.com and www.cardwatch.org.uk, the Using your plastic overseas guide includes tips on: what to do before, during and after your trip abroad to minimise the chances of being a victim of fraud; and provides information around the types of charges you may incur when withdrawing cash at a cash machine or when making a purchase overseas using your card.

Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says:

“As a nation we are all using our cards more frequently abroad so it pays to be aware of any extra costs that may be incurred for using them overseas, as well as taking steps to protect them from fraud. Card thieves are hoping to catch us relaxed and off-guard when we are overseas, so we need to take the same sensible precautions with our cards abroad as we would in the UK.”

Travellers overseas can help ensure that using their cards abroad is a hassle-free experience by following common sense advice such as:

• Make sure your card company has up-to-date contact details for you - including a mobile number, especially if you are travelling overseas.

• Make sure you have the 24-hour contact phone numbers for your cards - in case you need to speak to your card company.

• Safeguard your PIN at all times. Don’t give it to anyone - even if they claim to be from the police or your bank.

• Shield your PIN with your free hand when typing it into a keypad in a shop or at a cash machine.

David Marshall, Head of Communications at ABTA says:

“Although there are a range of payment options available for UK consumers going abroad, paying with plastic is an increasingly popular choice. The advice in this guide provides holidaymakers with a variety of useful information that can help ensure a safe and stress-free holiday.”

ENDS

The Using your plastic overseas guide is freely available for download from www.apacs.org.uk, www.cardwatch.org.uk and www.choosingandusing.com

For further information contact the APACS Press Office on 020 7711 6251 or press@apacs.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1 APACS is the trade body that gives banks, building societies and card issuers a forum where they can work together on non-competitive issues. We help manage the way that businesses and individuals in the UK move their money around - this covers cash, credit and debit cards, cheques and automated payments such as Direct Debits, salary payments and online/phone transactions. We lead the fight against banking fraud and twice a year we publish figures on payment industry fraud losses.

2 ABTA was founded in 1950 and currently has 1,600 members with 6,300 outlets. Members include travel agents, tour operators and support services right across the spectrum from small family-owned businesses to the large tour operators. ABTA is the largest travel association in the UK and its members provide 90% of the foreign package holidays in the UK as well as selling millions of independent travel arrangements.

3 Card statistics on UK-issued cards:

• Three per cent of all transactions on UK-issued cards occurred abroad last year (52% on credit/charge cards; 47% on debit cards; and 1% on ATM-only cards).

• In 2007, we used our cards 309 million times overseas in transactions totalling £25.2 billion - £18.1 billion on purchases and £7.1 billion on cash taken out of overseas cash machines. (In 2006, we used our cards 288 million times overseas in transactions totalling £23.0 billion.)

• The value of these overseas transactions for 2007 breaks down into: £13.9 billion on credit/charge cards; £11.1 billion on debit cards; and £0.2 billion on ATM-only cards.

• Total spending abroad by UK residents in 2007 was £36 billion (source: Office for National Statistics).

• On average, £126 is spent abroad for every payment card issued in the UK.

• The average amount withdrawn from cash machines when abroad is £103, compared with £66 when in the UK.

• Fraud abroad on UK-issued cards totalled £207.6 million in 2007 – an increase of 77% from 2006, when it totalled £117.1 million.