The cash black hole equates to each of the 5,000,000 travelling fans losing an average of £4.75 in loose change. Maestro consulted a leading personal finance expert as UEFA EURO 2008™ gets into full swing to highlight to fans the advantages of travelling light and using their debit card as their financial passport this summer.
The fans' lost cash is equivalent to more than 9.75 million servings of beer, 27,638 flat screen TVs or 432,000 Swiss cuckoo clocks. The massive cash loss is based on research by a leading independent personal finance expert who calculated the amount of money the typical fan could lose by using cash, based on a range of factors, including:
Money lost in commission when exchanging currency between Euros for Austria and Swiss Francs
Money lost on commission when buying and selling travellers' cheques, over paying in taxis, public transport and at vendors as they don't always have the right change. The losses could be even higher when taking into account coins falling out of fans' pockets during goal celebrations. All these ways to lose money through paying with cash can be avoided by using debit cards.
Top money expert, Sue Hayward, who compiled the research, said: "With any major tournament there are lots of ways a fan can lose out by relying on cash. The two currencies of Austria and Switzerland and the different cultures that will make UEFA EURO 2008™ so special also mean that there’s plenty of ways to score a financial own goal - but if you use a debit card while travelling you can avoid lost cash this summer."
Luke Olbrich, Debit Centre of Excellence MasterCard Europe, said: "Your debit card is like your financial passport to Europe this summer. This research just highlights those hidden costs where cumbersome cash lets you down. As an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008™, we want fans to enjoy winning moments in the knowledge that they are getting the best possible deal."
