How ATMs can improve airports with currency exchange

When traveling to a different country, it's important to ensure you have enough of the country's fiat currency on hand, especially since some countries rely far more on physical cash than others, or there may be issues with payments card overseas. But it can be a challenge for travelers to plan how they will obtain foreign currency.

One solution being provided to travelers are ATMs at the airport.

Travelex has been offering ATMs that provide the service for some time, but it recently introduced a new service via ATMs: click and collect. With click and collect, customers can pre-order foreign currency online at a fixed rate and then collect it from an airport ATM.

"Customers place their order via the Travelex website and then securely collect their currency from an ATM, using their phone and credentials. Currently, customers can withdraw up to $800 or 800 euros via ATM click and collect; there are no collection fees and orders can be collected from the ATMs at any time of day," a Travelex spokesperson said in an email interview. "The service is centered around a robust, secure wallet-based platform, which coupled with Travelex's industry leading FX ATM processing ensures the service is quick and always available."

The company ran a pilot at Heathrow Terminal 5 in the U.K. and the Brisbane airport in Australia. Following completion of the pilot Travelex expanded the service to more than 50 ATMs in all Heathrow terminals as well as Manchester and Birmingham airports.

Customers have a variety of options of how to access this cash, such as employees at stores, ATMs, Travel Money Cards or digital wallets. The goal is to provide customers with options, especially those who plan ahead.

"At the absolute heart of our proposition is convenience because we know that different customers like to buy their foreign currency in different ways," the spokesperson said. "Some customers like to plan their trips well in advance, others only start thinking about the foreign currency requirements once they get to the airport! Some customers prefer to use a digital product, and some customers prefer to use cash."

Nick Hughes, a customer of Travelex, said he especially appreciated the ability to get "preferential rates" for exchanging currency and allowed him to have cash on hand to shop at the airport.

"I had a really seamless experience using ATM click and collect. I needed 500 euros for a trip to Spain, which I ordered online the day before my flight; I was then able to collect it at the airport from the ATM in just a few seconds, paying no fees and getting Travelex's best rate," Hughes said in an email interview. "No queues, no human interaction and a guarantee that the currency I needed would be waiting for me at the airport, available for pick up at any time."

Travelex is experimenting with other technologies with the ATM, such as digital signage. At three ATMs at Birmingham Airport, Travelex installed a 2.5-millimeter direct view LED display, which wraps around three sides of the machine to attract customers. The content for the display is adjusted dynamically depending on data.

"We have been able to marry the content to key flight destinations at BHX to create a special sense of place for customers embarking to these destinations," the spokesperson said. "The content displayed is dynamically adjusted to match flights departing and will be further expanded to link to other relevant data such as weather and demographics."

Digital signage is also making waves in the banking industry. Click here to read a story about how Valley Bank deployed an innovative display to attract customers.