Brits across the country gearing up to head on holiday could end up spending much more than they planned to. 

Hidden fees from using credit or debit cards abroad can rack up over the course of a holiday without you realising.

Bank fees for making payments abroad or withdrawing money from an ATM aren’t immediately apparent and easy to miss as you make payment after contactless payment.

The standard rate for these fees is 2.99 percent but can vary by provider meaning bigger and consistent purchases can very quickly eat into a holidays budget.

Experts from card payment provider, Dojo, have provided a series of steps holidaymakers can learn from in order to avoid breaking the bank.

Dojo’s top holiday tips:

Make sure you take a card with you that doesn’t charge a fee

When heading abroad, make sure you take a debit card with you that doesn’t charge these additional fees. Banks like Monzo and Starling offer cards with no abroad charges, whilst household UK banks such as Lloyds, Halifax and Barclays will charge you for using your card overseas.

Delete debit cards off your Apple Pay & Google Wallet so you aren’t caught out

Digital wallets, like Apple Pay and Google Wallet for Android, make spending easy with just a tap. If you have your main debit or credit card as your main payment form on your digital wallet, remove it for your holiday and add a non-charging bank account instead so you can’t get caught out by accident.

To remove a card from your digital wallet, simply head to your Google or Apple wallet app and remove it directly from your listed payment options.

Take cash with you for small purchases

Using cash as your holiday budget is an easy way to keep an eye on your spending. Knowing your budget and having it physically means you can ensure you don’t overspend. Use cash for smaller purchases to keep additional costs down.

Be sure to only carry a small amount and keep the rest locked away and secured either in your hotel safe or another secure location.

Don’t take cash out of an ATM abroad

Not only will you be charged your bank’s rate for taking money out abroad, you could be charged an additional fee by the ATM itself. ATMs abroad use different conversion rates and languages, so it can also be easy to take out more than you need by accident (and be charged for it). According to Which? due to conversion rates, some ATMs could cause as much as a £25 difference in your withdrawal amounts, so take cash with you in the country’s currency to avoid this happening.

Always use the local currency option 

When paying on card or withdrawing from a cash machine, you’ll be given the option to convert to pounds or the local currency. It’s best to choose to pay in the local currency, otherwise the ATM or card terminal provider can set its own exchange rate which is likely to be less favourable than your bank or card provider’s rate.