Business Travel: Psst! Wanna change money ? No thanks, I've got my flexible friend

Changing money on foreign trips can be a time-consuming and costly business. But with plastic cards now accepted almost everywhere, it is also becoming unnecessary, argues David Watts.

Money, money, money. It is the raison d'etre of business travel, and also indispensable to go anywhere further than your desk. But until the euro becomes established, the average business traveller will continue to battle with conversion rates and bureaux de change, preferably without losing too much of the company's cash in transaction costs.

As a basic rule of thumb, the answer is to exchange your money as few times as possible. Paying more commission than you need is just giving money away. Each time, you lose about five per cent because of the buy and sell rate spread used by exchange bureaux. Travellers' cheques can be even more expensive than currency notes since you pay commission to buy them and then there is often a charge to turn them back into cash. Travellers' cheques denoted in currency also have their value eroded by the buy and sell rates applied. If you add up all these charges and devaluations over the course of a business trip, you've probably given away the equivalent of a slap-up dinner or two for valuable contacts.

A Single European currency would have some advantages for travellers by getting rid of the need to change money when making trips between member countries. Of course, things would still cost varying amounts in the different countries but the euro in your pocket would be the same, so all the exchange costs and confusion would be gone. But why wait for the politicians? You can already simplify your travelling finances and make them cheaper - and not just in Europe. A single monetary system already operates around the globe and offers competitive exchange rates, low charges and great versatility.

Plastic cards have been the mainstay of my travel finances for several years, and at the dawn of the 21st century surely the time when electronic money is the norm for travellers must be just around the corner. A small amount of local currency is useful when you first arrive in a country, and a couple of travellers' cheques will act as a safety net in emergencies, but credit and debit cards should do the job the rest of the time. Yet before you head off to some remote corner of the world with nothing but your flexible friend for company, check with the card provider on the level of coverage you can expect in your destination. If your cards work through the Visa or MasterCard system then you've got most of the globe covered.

You can get local currency from ATMs or cash advances over the counter from local banks. It's just one transaction and most cards charge a commission less than or equal to exchange bureaux. You may also be able to make purchases directly with no commission or handling charge, in such cases my card uses an equivalent sell rate adjusted by just 2.65 per cent from the spot rate. Considerably better than most exchange bureaux, which take 4-10 per cent, depending on the currency.

Despite their expense, travellers cheques are popular because part of the cost goes towards insuring them, so if they're lost or stolen they're replaced. But is the cost justified? Your normal travel insurance should cover the loss of several hundred pounds worth of cash, so you can benefit from the lower costs of using your cards to get currency, confident in the knowledge that your wealth is still protected.

Plastic cards are also much more useful than cash or travellers' cheques when booking flights or hotels, since one phone call will confirm the deal. If you're relying on pieces of paper, your seat or bed may be sold to another business traveller because you can't hand over the money until you arrive. Add the benefit of the travel and purchase insurance that you get with many cards and you must be on to a winner.

No ordering of money in advance, no trip to the bank to collect and sign the travellers' cheques, no carrying high-value, bulging wallets. Just simple, modern technology. All you have to do is pay the bill when you get back.

plastic guide to the world

Paying with plastic: places where you can expect to pay by credit card for most tourist/business needs, where perhaps you wouldn't expect to be able to: Colombia, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela.

Paying with plastic: places where you rarely can, where perhaps you would expect to be able to: Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, the Gambia, Hungary.

Getting cash: places that offer tourist-friendly Automatic Teller Machines, where perhaps you wouldn't expect them: Colombia, Mexico, Turkey.

Getting cash: places that don't offer tourist-friendly Automatic Teller Machines, where perhaps you would expect them: Belize, Brazil (though Visa is acceptable in some places), Costa Rica, Japan (though MasterCard is becoming increasingly acceptable), New Zealand, Switzerland (MasterCard more likely to be accepted than Visa).

Where MasterCard is more acceptable than Visa: Egypt, Germany, Switzerland.

Where Visa is more acceptable than MasterCard: Cyprus, Gibraltar, Philippines, Poland, United Arab Emirates.

Where any US-issued credit card is unacceptable: Cuba.

Compiled from information supplied by Barclaycard, and travellers' reports.