About to embark on that summer holiday and unsure about how best to provide for day-to-day expenditure?

Variety is the answer, according to financial institutions and travel agents who advise travellers to opt for a broad range of payment methods and not to be overly dependent on any single one of them.

Cash:

Inevitably you will want to carry some cash in the relevant currency, particularly for making small purchases when you first arrive at the destination. However, do not be too reliant on cash. Apart from the obvious security problems, there are other limitations. In the US for instance, car-hire companies and hotels do not as a rule accept cash payment.

Eurocheques: Eurocheques remain a favourite form of payment for holiday-makers although their usage has begun to decline in parallel with the rise in the popularity of "plastic money". They come in books of 12 and bear the customer's account number on them. Holders simply write cheques in the currency of the country they're visiting. They can also obtain cash at banks by using a Eurocheque card.

The cheques are acceptable in most retailing outlets in Europe, wherever there is a Eurocheque sign or EC symbol. However, be warned, some retailers in France and Italy do not accept them.

Holiday-makers should remember that when obtaining cash with a Eurocheque at a local bank they will be required to produce a passport or other form of identity.

Irish banks will guarantee cheques up to approximately £140 and will clear cheques up to £800, but nothing more than £140 is guaranteed. Banks in France regularly refuse to cash Eurocheques and instead refer travellers to ATM machines instead: so it is important to have your personal identification number (PIN) to hand.

The Eurocheque card will enable you to get cash in local currency from a large number of ATM machines in Europe, once the machine displays the EC symbol.

However, in Austria, Germany and Switzerland the machine must also display the word International. Not all banks accept the Eurocheque card but the majority of them do.

The limit for any single withdrawal from an ATM is £140 or its equivalent in local currency. When using the machine an English language service is normally offered.

When a Eurocheque is received for payment from abroad, a commission of between 90p and £4 is paid to the foreign bank, depending on the amount. A handling charge of 25p is charged by the Irish Eurocheque clearing centre, in addition to whatever normal current account fees apply.

In the case of Eurocheque card ATM transactions, the foreign bank charges £1.25, plus 0.25 per cent of the amount withdrawn. A charge of £4.25 per annum is levied for all Eurocheques cards issued.

It is important to remember that the rate of exchange is the one prevailing when the Eurocheque is received in the Republic, not the other way round. As the name implies, Eurocheques are not accepted outside the EU.

Travellers' Cheques: Travellers' cheques are available in all the leading currencies, but can be cumbersome when travelling through several countries. They can be cashed in a wide variety of places and have a slightly higher acceptance in France and some other countries than Eurocheques.

Travellers' cheques remain popular because they take some of the uncertainty out of travelling. You pay for them before you leave so fluctuating exchange rates are not a problem. Most banks and some retailers charge for cashing travellers' cheques, although the amount differs.

A copy of the travellers' cheques sales voucher should be kept separate from the cheques to facilitate replacement in case of loss or theft. Most tour operators and banks provide a phoneline which helps holiday-makers quickly replace cheques which have been stolen.

Travellers' cheques can be converted back into pounds when you return. The two main banks allow customers to sell the travellers' cheques back at the rate which applied when they were purchased. They do not charge any commission for this. However, AIB operates a maximum refund limit of £100 per customer and Bank of Ireland operates a £200 limit.

Laser Cards: Laser cards can only be used outside Ireland if they are equipped with Cirrus, an international system set up by banks around the world to allow holders of debit cards to access their accounts when abroad.

Cirrus allows laser card holders to withdraw the equivalent of up to £200 per day in local currency from overseas ATM machines.

According to the two main banks, if a Laser card has Cirrus, theoretically more than 300,000 ATM machines around the world can be used. There is no need to obtain a new PIN number.

Most banks charge a fee for each withdrawal made overseas. Bank of Ireland charges 2 per cent of the amount withdrawn in Europe or 2.5 per cent in the rest of the world. Most of the main banks will issue you with a new Laser card, including the Cirrus service if required. The cash taken out is charged to the account at the exchange rate which applies at the time of the transaction.

Credit Cards: ATM machines which bear the Visa, Mastercard (Access) and American Express symbols will give Irish credit-card holders cash. They are worldwide brands and there are few countries in which they are not accepted.

However, an important factor to remember when withdrawing cash using a credit card is that interest is immediately charged on the amount once the withdrawal is made. This is not the case if you use your credit card during a retail transaction.

Credit-card holders holidaying in France may also experience difficulties securing acceptance of their cards. French-issued credit cards carry a microchip as an additional security measure and this has meant that some French retailers will not accept cards not issued by French banks and not bearing the microchip.

In the event of difficulties, card holders can request the retailer to call their authorisation centre.

Another difficulty in France is that because of the large volume of payments made with debit cards by the French themselves, some retailers are unhappy to accept Visa or MasterCard payments for which they will not receive payment as quickly.

The problems encountered are likely to vary depending on location: wider acceptance is likely in main cities in France. Those preparing to holiday in more remote areas should bring Eurocheques or travellers' cheques as well.

A transaction which takes place in a foreign currency is converted by the bank at the time the transaction is debited to the card account. For some destinations credit cards are completely indispensable. For example, most hotels and apartment complexes in the Caribbean require a credit-card imprint on arrival as a form of indemnity deposit.

ATM Cards: Getting cash from cash machines overseas is a relatively recent phenomenon. But ATMs around the world which carry the Plus sign can now be accessed by a significant number of Irish ATM card holders.

Pass-card holders in the case of Bank of Ireland and AIB Banklink card holders can avail of this service. But NIB's ATM card can only be used in British cash machines as it is not compatible with the Plus network. The best advice is to check with your bank before you leave to see if your ATM card is compatible with overseas cash machines.

Pass and Banklink card holders can also use cash machines, bearing Link symbols, in Britain and Northern Ireland.