Credit cards are one of the easiest and most popular ways to pay for goods when you're abroad. As countless ad campaigns have taught us, they can be used anywhere and they save you the hassle of picking up traveller's cheques before you leave.

Select the right credit card and you can get lots of useful extras and a good interest rate, but take the wrong one and you could be faced with some nasty fees. According to FairFX - an online foreign exchange company - 48 per cent of Brits rack up charges when they use their credit and debit cards on holiday.

FairFX are trying to make it easier for travellers to manage their money by launching a new text top-up service. Their prepaid debit card can have funds added to it from anywhere in the world, simply by sending a text message, which saves you the cost of withdrawing it from cash machines. You can also use the text service to check your balance and exchange rates.

The service is being trialled in August and after that it will cost 10p per message. Just remember to bring your phone charger!