You’ll now get LESS THAN one euro to the pound at airport holiday money exchanges
We reveal how leaving cash to the last minute could cost you
HOLIDAYMAKERS are now being offered less than a pound for the euro at some airport money exchanges, the Sun Online can reveal.
Airport money exchanges are notoriously expensive, giving customers who leave buying their holiday money to the last minute with much poorer rates than those who order in advance.
The value of the pound is now at a 31 year low against other currencies.
Since the vote to leave EU referendum in June the value of the pound against the euro has fallen by 14.5 per cent.
It has tumbled by more than 16.4 per cent against the dollar.
This means that the amount of holiday cash you can get for your pound is drastically lower.
The Sun Online contacted three airport bureaus in London this morning to see what rate they are offering customers who exchange sterling for euros today.
The worst rate we found meant that those swapping £500 for euros would see €60 worth of holiday cash wiped out.
Moneycorp’s Gatwick north branch was selling cash at the rate of 0.9741, meaning you’d get €487 for £500.
Whereas someone who pre-ordered their cash – either by telephone or online – would get a rate of 1,0911, giving them €545.55 – a difference of €58.55.
The walk-in rate wasn’t much better at Travelex’s Heathrow desk where £500 would get you €500.55.
However, if you’d pre-ordered the cash you’d be able to get almost €50 more.
At International Currency Exchange (ICE), £500 would get you €525 on their walk-in rate, whereas pre-ordering it you would get €551.50, for the same amount of sterling.
David Swann, head of pricing at Travelex, said: “The exchange rate markets are currently at their worst levels for the Pound versus the Euro for five years, which means customers heading to Europe are getting fewer Euros compared to previous months.”
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“At Travelex we take volatility in the market and the cost of operating at airports into consideration with our on demand rates.”
Travelex also promises that it if a customer finds a better price elsewhere they will refund the difference between the price they paid and the lower one.
Tracy Bownes, retail director at Moneycorp, said: “The overnight fall in sterling has had an obvious effect on airport rates this morning.
“This is one of the reasons why we always encourage our customers to pre-order their currency online and collect at the airport.”
She added that the reason for higher airport rates was due to the “associated costs of operating there”, including ground rent, additional security and staff.
Koko Sarkari, chief operating officer of ICE, said: "We work hard to keep our prices fair and competitive around the world.
"However, due to differences in distribution, costs of operation, regional competition and other factors such as ongoing volatility in the market as we are experiencing now, online prices may not be the same as our ICE branch prices and prices may also vary between branches because of these factors."