Both British expatriates working overseas, and foreigners with jobs in the UK are being stung with sky-high transfer fees and poor exchange rates.

Someone making three foreign exchange transactions through a high street bank each month would pay more than £1,000 in transfer fees and commission alone, a new study claims.

And that's without counting how much they could lose due to getting a poor exchange rate.

Most banks charge an automatic £25 fee every time you send money to a different country. A further 1.5% commission is then also taken from the amount to be transferred.

Anyone regularly transferring money through a High Street bank is therefore paying out huge sums for the privilege.

You can, however, avoid these charges - and get a better exchange rate - if you transfer money through a specialist currency exchange company.

Caxton FX, for example, is currently offering fee and commission-free transfers on amounts between £100 to £10,000.

The company said: "In these difficult times it's important that you get the most out of your money. But using your high street bank account/online payments service to transfer multiple payments to family or friends back home, could cost you an extra £1062 per year. That's the cost of eight return flights to Europe, or a return flight in BA Club class to Sharm El Sheikh. What would you rather see your money go towards?"

Rival Moneycorp also offers commission-free international transfers, while transactional fees for its private clients range from £4 to £15 depending on the amount of money being moved and the frequency with which the client makes a transfer.