Prepaid cards 'the way forward for holiday spending'

Prepaid debit cards are set to become the future of holiday spending, according to a financial expert.

These products allow customers to load a certain amount of foreign currency onto their card, which can then be withdrawn from cash machines or used for transactions in foreign countries.

Prepaid cards are thought to be more efficient than traveller's cheques and more financially advisable than the ordinary method of exchanging currencies.

Steve Willey, head of cards and payments at financial comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said that prepaid travel cards have "really taken off".

He added: "In terms of their use, effectively they're a traveller's cheque replacement."

Mr Willey predicted that it is only a matter of time, as people become accustomed to the idea of a prepaid travel card, before the products become the norm.

"Once people have got comfortable with the concept and realise that there are savings to be made, then I think this will become just 'the way to do things'," he said.