People going overseas have been urged not to use debit cards by a currency expert.

Caxton FX listed a number of common charges that apply to such cards and suggested that an imaginative explorer would be better off with a prepaid one instead.

According to the organisation, using a debit card while overseas usually involves a "loading fee" of 2.75 per cent and will probably also incur costly charges for withdrawing cash.

Caxton FX added that a number of cards carry extra costs every time a transaction is made.

Other potential problems for a traveller include the risk of the card being blocked by the bank, the inconvenience caused if it is lost, subjection to fluctuating exchange rates and the difficulty of budgeting properly.

Recently, mobile phone website Recombu.com suggested that people going on a holiday tour should buy an international sim card for their phones.

Spokesperson Tom Newton explained that this would incur a single one-off charge before allowing the user to make and receive calls to and from home at a much lower cost.