Consumer Focus estimates that just short of £1 billion is charged on foreign exchange transactions when people buy their travel money in the UK. The majority of charges are incurred when using credit and debit cards to buy currency, with charges averaging £3. However, a standard Lloyds TSB or Royal Bank of Scotland debit card brings a charge of 2.99% for the privilege of using your card; which would mean that a purchase of 560 Euros, at an exchange rate of 1.12, costing £500, would bring an additional charge of £14.95. This can be easily avoided by withdrawing the cash from your bank account and paying for your foreign exchange at a Bureau de Change, such as eurochange PLC, where exchange rates are commission free and traditionally very competitive. Indeed, the stubbornly low exchange rates offered by banks to high street customers perhaps account for the statistic that only 15 per cent of holidaymakers buy currency from banks before travelling abroad.