UK banking group Barclays has signed up reality star Gemma Collins to front its new Travel Wallet app campaign, starting with a swap shop for unwanted holiday souvenirs.

Barclays said that UK travellers waste a massive £768,542,240 a year on souvenirs on the last day of their trip, with nearly a quarter (23 per cent) admitting to buying these souvenirs simply to use up their remaining currency.

Barclays’ new app allows travellers to exchange money from their current account into euros or US dollars in a matter of taps and spend abroad with their existing debit card.

To celebrate the upcoming launch, Barclays is also giving holiday makers the chance to turn back the clock on their past souvenir splurges and will be holding a souvenir swap shop on Saturday 27th July in London.

Members of the public can bring their souvenirs to be valued by seasoned traveller Gemma Collins who will then offer to reimburse them in exchange for the item. Regretful souvenir shoppers are being invited to book slots here.

“I’m always bringing back ridiculous items from holiday that seemed like a good idea at the time”, said Gemma Collins.

“I probably have enough souvenirs from Marbella to open a museum in a box somewhere – I just don’t like to think about how much they’ve all cost me over the years.”

Gillean Dooney, Head of Current Accounts and Travel Money said: “The build up to a trip abroad is stressful enough without worrying about finding the time to get currency, let alone knowing how much you need to take out.

“Travel Wallet means you can strike this consideration off your holiday list and simply exchange what you need, when you need it into either euros or US dollars keeping just as much control over your money when you’re abroad as you would at home.”

The feature will automatically appear in customers’ Barclays app later this summer.

To use the feature, customers simply need to open their Barclays app, go to the ‘Cards’ section under ‘Quick Links’ and tap ‘Create Travel Wallet’, select whether they want a euro or a US dollar Wallet.

They can then securely exchange money, as and when they need it, from their current account into their selected currency and spend as normal with their Barclays debit card in the local currency without being charged extra fees for card transactions.

Additionally, Barclays will not charge any additional fees for using ATMs overseas or limit the number of ATM withdrawals when customers withdraw cash from their Travel Wallet.