Foreign exchange specialist Travelex has launched more than 75 international bureaux, kiosks and ATMs worldwide in 2023.
In Europe, it has introduced new ATMs at Berlin, Frankfurt and Zurich airports and extended contracts for both its bureaux at Hamburg Airport and its tax refund business in the Netherlands.
In the UK, Travelex has launched its first automated, self-service, FX kiosk at London Heathrow that requires no human interaction. Alongside this, new 3m LED walls have also been developed for Heathrow Terminals 3 and 5. A new store has been opened at Edinburgh Airport, and an extensive bureaux refresh has been undertaken across part of Travelex’s UK estate.
Travelex will also launch a dozen new ATMs across the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, Dubai International and the new Abu Dhabi International Airport – Terminal A. In terms of a retail footprint expansion in the Middle East, Oman saw the launch of a new Travelex pre-immigration store at Muscat International Airport in October of this year.
Also in the UAE, a new flagship Landside Arrivals store has opened in Dubai International’s Terminal 3. At Abu Dhabi seven new stores and eight ATMs have opened to coincide with the inauguration of the new Abu Dhabi International Airport – Terminal A which will serve as the capital city’s main airport.
In Asia, two new stores have been launched at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), taking the total number of retail stores in Malaysia to 10, while two further stores are also set to be launched at Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 1 in the coming months. In Japan, Travelex has introduced its prepaid foreign currency card, the Travelex Travel Money Card, to the local market.
Travelex has opened six new stores in Australia and three in New Zealand. Travelex has also partnered with the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) to offer its 1,200,000 customers access to discounted travel money.
In Brazil, Travelex has continued to invest in and expand its operations with seven new stores launched nationwide, including in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Travelex now operates over 125 stores across the country, with further openings planned for the coming months.
The new bureaux openings follow Travelex’s £90m (US$113m) refinancing package. With international travel now at 93.1% of pre-Covid levels, and travel demand – particularly among emerging markets – continuing to accelerate, Travelex is working to further expand its retail offering, develop new wholesale relationships and increase investment into both its digital transformation and further product innovation.
Richard Wazacz, CEO of Travelex, said, “Customer convenience is at the heart of everything Travelex stands for, and so we’re thrilled to be investing in the growth of our retail store operations. This investment, along with the recent news of our £90m refinancing, is a clear statement that both travel, and Travelex, are on the rise once again.”
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