The pre-pay travel market is becoming increasingly competitive, and Barclays has just entered into the game by launching its ‘Travel Money’.

The card is used by customers to put between £100 and £2,500 on it, which can be in any of Sterling, Euros or US dollars.

Cards like this are growing in popularity as holiday makers are reluctant to take their regular cards abroad for reasons of security. Lose this card and you are only risking the amount of money of the card; lose a credit card and you’re giving the thief a chance to spend up to your credit limit – and beyond!

The Barclays card is free to load money onto and to use for purchases, but there are some charges worth mentioning.

Use of an ATM incurs a charge of 2%, and a minimum fee of £1.50, and there is a currency conversion charge of 2.75% for any spending in a different currency.

Barclays commented that pre-pay cards were safer than cash and give more flexibility than travellers’ cheques. The cards also have a built-in budgeting system for holiday makers as they will not be able to spend more than they have loaded onto their card.

This card market is bound to attract more competition, but currently the biggest players are Travelex and the Post Office who both charge a fee to load the card with money. Travelex charges 2% with a minimum fee of £10, and the Post Office card has a one-off charge of £10.

The Travelex also has a nasty catch: if you stop using your card you will get charged an inactivity fee, so the best idea is to cancel the card after your holiday.

The Caxton FX card is another new one to the market, and it only charges customers a fee of £1.35 for withdrawal at an ATM, so long as the card application and management is done online.