UK Savings Week: Holidaymakers return with £130 in their pockets

Holidaymakers with leftover cash head home with average of £130 in their pockets
 

• Returning holidaymakers with leftover cash are exchanging an average of £130 in unspent currency, according to data analysis
• Holidaymakers reveal they have an average of £54 worth of foreign currency lying around the house
• Top places where foreign currency is left to be forgotten about include household money pots (38%), a random drawer (28%) or in purses or wallets (21%).
• The Euro, US Dollar and Turkish Lira have proved to be the most popular currencies this summer according to internal data. The Polish Zloty, Australian Dollar and Canadian Dollar have also proved popular with customers.

 
Returning holidaymakers who haven’t spent all their foreign currency on trips abroad are exchanging, on average, £130 when they get back to the UK, according to new internal data analysis from Tesco Bank.

The findings come as the summer travel season nears to a close. While some savvy holidaymakers are exchanging their currency back into sterling, others are returning with foreign currency burning a hole in their pockets. Separate research from Tesco Bank reveals that people have, on average, £54 lying around the house in foreign currency, with euros, dollars, liras and other currencies languishing in money pots (38%) or a random drawer in the house (28%), or in purses or wallets (21%).
 
Iain Donachie, Head of Money Services at Tesco Bank commented: “When returning from holiday it can be easy to get swept back into your routine at home and forget about whatever foreign currency you may have leftover. However, you could be sitting on a decent sum of unused currency. It’s therefore worth checking what you’re coming back with and if there’s any leftover currency that has been stowed away in random drawers or wallets as exchanging them back into sterling could give you an extra budget boost, be it to get the children or grandchildren kitted out for the new school term or even to help with saving for Christmas.

“It’s worth checking the exchange rates and shopping around for the best deal to get more bang for your buck. Tesco Bank offers a buy back service on unused currency – no matter where you bought it in the first place – in our travel money bureaux, meaning customers don’t have to feel the need to overspend when they’re away.”