Holidaymakers may find that they are more likely to use a prepaid foreign currency card abroad than traveller's cheques in the future, it has been claimed.

These cards enable travellers to load cash in a certain currency onto them, allowing holders to use them in retail transactions or when withdrawing money using an ATM.

They have several security-related advantages, as lost or stolen cards can be frozen, with the balance being retained without allowing the holidaymaker's bank details to be compromised.

According to Steve Willey of moneysupermarket.com, prepaid cards "have really taken off" and look set to be used more in the future.

"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 remarked.

Statistics from UK payments association Apacs suggest that the level of fraud committed abroad by criminals using stolen UK bank details rose by 77 per cent in 2007.

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