GET FOREIGN CASH QUICK AS A FLASH

Don't forget to pack your plastic before setting off on your foreign holidays.

Credit and debit cards such as VISA and Mastercard can be used at 250,000 overseas cash machines to easily obtain the local currency.

Using cash machines abroad is as simple as in your local high street. First, find a machine which matches the logo on your plastic.

Then insert your card and register your PIN number, which will let you choose an English language option.

If you have an instant access savings account which includes a debit card, you can even draw on your savings.

This means your savings will be earning money right up until the time you need them.

The Co-op Bank's Pathfinder account, for instance, pays five per cent gross on all balances and includes a Visa debit card.

"It means people can avoid the hassle of cashing travellers cheques or buying foreign currency," said Simon Williams of the Co- operative Bank. But the seasoned traveller will take some local currency before leaving home.

Arriving at your destination without enough cash to pay for a taxi or a meal is too big a hassle.

When buying foreign currency, it's worth shopping around.

Commission ranges from the 0.75 per cent charged by the National and Provincial building society to the two per cent charged by some banks. It's also worth taking travellers cheques, which are much safer than cash because they can be replaced without loss to you.

Check whether you need to take sterling cheques or US dollar cheques. Commission rates for travellers' cheques vary between 0.75 and two per cent.

Don't forget your local post office, which supplies foreign currency and travellers cheques at commission of just one per cent.

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