British tourists on holiday are being told they cannot exchange their money because of the Brexit market turmoil, Daily Mail reports.
Banks and hotels around the world are refusing to swap the pound into local cash, leaving many holidaymakers penniless.
Incidents of this nature have been reported in USA, Greece, Bulgaria and Australia.
In Australia, the Commonwealth Bank and NAB suspended the exchange of Sterling.
Commbank tweeted: ‘We are sorry but due to recent results from the British exit referendum we are temporarily suspending all foreign exchange of GBP pounds and transactions that do not include AUD until the morning of Monday, 27 June,’
No official exchange rate for Sterling
Holidaymakers on the island of Kos were told they were unable to swap the cash because the European Central Bank has not set an official exchange rate for Sterling.
Matt Rooney, who is on holiday on the Greek island, tweeted: ‘It’s beginning already! We’re in Greece, no cash exchange & no cash machine withdrawals for Brits. Great #brexitfail’.
He posted a picture of the sign at his hotel which read: ‘We would like to inform you that we cannot exchange British or Scottish pounds at the moment, as we do not have an official exchange rate from the central bank.’
Since his original tweet Mr Rooney, who lives in Nottinghamshire, has said some cash machines are now working, but some hotels are still unwilling to exchange currency.
He wrote: ‘Am told cash machines now firing on all cylinders, but still no sterling cash exchange at the hotel.’
Problems in the UK as well
Alex Smith, from London, also experienced problems in Bulgaria following the result of the vote.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘Varna airport exchange bureau refused to accept our pounds. Beware to anyone else that’s daft enough to travel today.’
MailOnline is also aware of a similar incidents in New York and Hawaii, where British tourists are not able to withdraw cash due to an ‘unrecognised exchange rate’ for the pound.
Some people appeared to be having problems in the UK as well, with NatWest admitting to a customer they had suspended exchanges due to ‘a fluctuation in the market’.
Joshua wrote on Twitter: ‘Just been told I can’t exchange pound (sic) for euros by natwest as and I quote ‘the pound is currently dead in the water’ I have a holiday.’
NatWest Help responded to him saying: ‘Hi Joshua, due to a fluctuation in currency markets, we are directing customers to travelex.co.uk‘
Lowest level for 31 years
The Leave campaign triumphed 52 to 48 after stacking up votes across England and Wales – despite massive support for Remain in Scotland and major cities including London.
As the shock result of the referendum was announced, the Pound lost around 20 per cent and nose-dived to its lowest level against the US dollar for 31 years, putting it on the brink of losing its AAA rating.
The pound had immediately plunged three per cent after the Sunderland result and at 2am was more than five per cent off against the dollar. The market rebounded some of the lost ground after Wandsworth voted strongly for Remain.
But at around 3.30am as expectations of a Brexit vote grew and it became the bookies favourite for the first time, Sterling dropped like a stone.
£100 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100
Meanwhile, more than £100billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 – a far greater collapse than Britain suffered after the Winter of Discontent in 1978, Black Wednesday in 1992 and when Lehman Brothers shut in 2009.
By mid-morning yesterday, the FTSE had started to recover but there were still huge indicators of uncertainty, including Standard & Poor’s warning that Britain’s AAA credit rating looks ‘untenable’.
European markets were also worse off as investors grappled with the implications for the eurozone of the British exit vote.
As uncertainty grew in the financial markets, the Bank of England sought to reassure investors that it would take ‘all necessary steps’ to stabilise the economy.
Governor Mark Carney said: ‘Some market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds.
‘As a backstop, and to support the functioning of markets, the Bank of England stands ready to provide more than £250 billion of additional funds through its normal facilities.’
Travelers who have been affected by the ‘pound panic’ can get in touch with Daily Mail by calling 0203 615 3636 or email immi.calderwood@mailonline.co.uk
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