Barclays customers to be able to buy euros and dollars in its app

Customers will be able to transfer money from their current account to their travel wallet in their app, where it will be stored as euros or dollars, and see exactly how much they'll receive before they make the conversion. 

It's not yet clear when the travel wallet will launch and when more currencies will be added, so for now, it's still worth getting a specialist travel credit or debit card for near-perfect exchange rates worldwide. There's full information on these in our Travel Credit Cards guide.

How will the travel wallet work? 

Customers who have moved cash into the travel wallet will then be able to spend or withdraw it in local currency (euros or dollars) while abroad, using their existing debit card, without incurring any fees. Currently you're charged a 2.75% non-sterling transaction fee, and £1.50 for some cash withdrawals, if you use your Barclays debit card abroad. 

With the travel wallet, you'll be able to change any leftover cash back into pounds at the end of your holiday for no fee.

There'll be no caps on spending, and no cap on the number of ATM withdrawals either – the same limits apply as they do at home in terms of cash withdrawal limits (personal customers £300 a day, premier customers £1,000 a day). As always, individual ATMs may still charge you for cash withdrawals.

We'll do a full analysis when we know what exchange rate Barclays will use and when the travel wallet is available.