CONSUMERS headed abroad for Easter are being urged to check their card statements as banks charge a total of £686m a year for overseas transactions.

Nine banks now levy a charge for every debit-card purchase made outside the UK – an average of £1.19 or £318m in total, says comparison firm Uswitch.

Add in another £368m in credit-card fees and the annual total nears £700m.

Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Cahoot, and Intelligent Finance all charge £1.50 each time you use your debit card abroad. NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland charge £1.25 while Lloyds TSB charges £1.

You will also be charged a foreign loading fee of between 2.75% and 2.99%.

It’s even more expensive if you use a credit card abroad to withdraw cash.

A Halifax Classic Mastercard holder will pay a 2.95% foreign-exchange fee and 3% for withdrawals – equivalent to £29.75 for £500 of cash. Credit-card purchases only incur the foreign exchange fee so the Halifax cardholder will pay £14.75 on £500 worth of purchases.