Travel Money for Minors?

rhastie

Hi,

My first time post to MSE...

My children (12 and 14) are shortly going on a school trip abroad. They need both UK Pounds and Euros for the trip. The trip is a week and there are currently no plans for them to go abroad again in the foreseeable future on their own.

I am a bit reluctant to exchange money into physical Euros as (a) I probably won't get the best rate and (b) more importantly the children may lose the money.

Is there a good mechanism e.g. a money travel card, a debit card etc. that I can get for my children that allows them to have pre-loaded Euros (and potentially UK pounds if that's possible)? If they lose this card then can it be cancelled and the funds recovered etc.?

What would be the approach to get the best exchange rates here? Obviously, I don't want to open up accounts for them unnecessarily as they are unlikely to be re-used afterwards. I also know they can not have a credit card?

Any help and guidance would be appreciated as the MSE is obviously geared towards adults and it's difficult to assess the options for minors.

Many Thanks,
Rich ...

Den1970

My children have a Nationwide Flex One account which is available for 11 - 17 year olds. It comes with a debit card which can be used while on holiday with no transaction fee. Not sure what the exchange rate is like but I imagine most payments will be small so any exchange rate differences will be minimal. 

martindow

Have you asked the school if they make any arrangements ?  A long time ago admittedly, staff on school trips used to dole out cash daily to children from a balance provided by the parents.

eDicky

The Nationwide FlexOne account, mentioned by Den, has ideal exchange rates without markup or fees for overseas card use, and can be 'reused afterwards' in the UK up to age 18 for general banking, totally free and I think they even pay a little interest.