The Foreign Office has issued a warning to Brits travelling to the European Union this summer, advising them to carry only small amounts of cash on them
UK tourists are in Europe are being urged to carry cash(Image: Yevgen Romanenko via Getty Images)
UK tourists travelling to Europe have been advised to carry only small amounts of cash. British holidaymakers venturing to the European Union have been cautioned about the risks associated with carrying large sums of money during their summer getaways.
Financial expert and author, Martin Newman, warned: “Cash is far less essential for travellers today. Most destinations accept cards and digital payments”. Martin recommends that you “carry a small amount of local currency – about £100 to £150 – to cover essentials like taxis, tips, or markets.”
James McCaffrey, finance expert at TotallyMoney, explained: “If you don’t declare the money, it could be seized, and you might have to pay £5,000 to get it back.” It comes as UK tourists in Turkey are being warned about a ‘sudden’ rule change.
£100 would equate to 115 Euros. The Foreign Office has stated that any cash amounting to £10,000 or more must be declared to UK customs if it’s being transported between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and a country outside the UK, reports Birmingham Live.
Even if you’re travelling as a family or group and the total sum exceeds £10,000 (even if individuals are carrying less than that), a declaration still needs to be made.
If you’re travelling to Northern Ireland and carrying more than €10,000 (or equivalent), you must adhere to the rules for taking cash into Northern Ireland.
The earliest you can make a declaration is 72 hours before your planned travel.
James added: “Carrying large amounts also puts you at risk of theft. Instead, topping up a current account with no foreign transaction fees might be safer for holiday spending.”
On Reddit, a user advised: “Just pay by card where you can, and take a few hundred Euros in cash just in case. You can always use those debit cards to take cash out – their rates are better than the exchange you’ll get in the UK.
“This is it. If your bank doesn’t offer some form of global money account that you can link to it, or just an account that doesn’t charge for foreign currency transactions, move banks. It saves a lot of hassle in the long run,” a second said.