Travelex, MasterCard(R) and West Suburban Bank Team Up to Introduce the
Newest Wave in Travel Currency
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The first ever prepaid foreign
currency card will soon be available in North America. Travelex, the
worldwide leader in foreign exchange, has teamed with MasterCard(R) and
West Suburban Bank to create the Cash Passport(TM), debuting at the Prepaid
Card Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 3-5, 2008.
The new Cash Passport cards are available in Euros and British Pounds.
Because Cash Passport is denominated in foreign currency, the exchange rate
is locked in at the time the card is loaded. For the consumer this means
they avoid the risk of currency fluctuations.
"Foreign currency prepaid cards make sense for financial institutions
and other currency sales outlets. More than 10 million trips(1) are made to
the UK and Europe by Americans every year and 84%(2) of them are prepared
to buy pre-trip foreign currency from a bank," said Christopher Russell,
Travelex's Executive Vice President of Outsourcing, Americas. "Travelex has
700 locations worldwide and provides an unbeatable level of global support
for Cash Passport and for all our offerings."
A recent study, conducted by YouGov plc on behalf of Travelex, shows
that demand for this new product is already established with 43% of recent
travelers(3) likely to use a Cash Passport in the future. For respondents
the security of PIN and signature protection (37%) and convenience of ATM
withdrawals (32%) were the most important features. When considering
foreign exchange purchases most US respondents, 37%, were looking for a
competitive exchange rate that the new Euro and British Pound cards provide
alongside the ability to lock-in those rates.
In the same study, 66% of US respondents did not exchange their
currency before they left for their last destination, compared to 29% from
Australia and 15% from the United Kingdom samplings, indicating huge demand
development potential in the US market.
Travelex is the largest distributor of prepaid travel cards in the
world. The Travelex Cash Passport will be available at local banks, travel
agencies and Travelex retail locations in North America in the second
quarter of 2008. Cash Passport will be available in Pound Sterling or Euros
and the card is re-loadable up to 24 times.
Traveler cheques continue to decline in popularity as concern over
cheque fraud continues to rise. The added requirement of carrying
significant identification, such as a passport for verifying signatures,
brings added security risks. The more secure Cash Passport carries only a
set amount of currency and does not provide access to a traveler's entire
bank account.
Cash Passport can be used to withdraw money from ATMs or be used to
directly purchase goods and services anywhere MasterCard is accepted around
the world. The card also comes with certain protections that should the
card be lost or stolen the balance is protected and can be replaced either
with emergency cash or loaded onto a new currency card.
Notes to editors:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample
size was 995 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between February 12th - 14th
2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and
are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
About Travelex:
Travelex is the world's foreign exchange and business payments
specialist, operating through subsidiaries and branches in these regions:
the Americas, United Kingdom; Europe, Asia Pacific; and Middle East and
Africa (EMEA).
As one of the world's leading providers of outsourced travel money to
banks, travel agencies and other retailers it provides products including
its prepaid travel card to over three million channel customers annually.
Through its world-leading automation Travelex offers consumers a full range
of delivery channel options including telephone and web-based ordering.
(1) US Dept of Commerce, ITA, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries 2005
(2) Alternative Futures Research - International Foreign Exchange Market
Monitor Report 2007
(3) Recent travelers defined as those who have traveled abroad from North
America in the last 12 months.
SOURCE Travelex
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CONTACT: Kate Koziol, CTC, of K Squared Communications, Inc., +1-773-774-7847, kkoziol@ksqrd.com, for Travelex
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