More ways for travellers to convert spare foreign change

• Converts leftover foreign currency into digital money with PayPal and Baidu or e-Gift cards
• Already available in Tokyo and Manila

PASSENGERS traveling through Singapore’s Changi Airport can now utilise their unneeded foreign change, using the new TravelersBox kiosks located at the airport.

TravelersBox is a fintech company that helps travellers convert their leftover foreign currency, including bills and coins, into digital money with e-wallet brands (PayPal and Baidu) or e-Gift cards (iTunes, JD.com, Grab, Tokpedia, Starbucks, Facebook).

They may also make a contribution to the Changi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Changi Airport Group (CAG) that supports youth community efforts, or charities such as the Red Cross.

“We are happy to welcome TravelersBox to Changi Airport and offer this useful service to the over 58 million passengers who pass through each year. We always strive to innovate in our product and service offerings to meet, and exceed our travellers’ needs. I believe this addition will make their Changi Experience a more delightful one,” said Changi Airport Group Passenger Experience senior vice president Albert Lim.

TravelersBox kiosks were first installed in Changi Airport in mid-December 2016 and in that time, there have been four times more transactions in Singapore than in the next best performing airport.

“Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, with a rising middle class who are travelling more both within the region and globally,” said TravelersBox CEO Tomer Zussman.

“Our kiosks in Singapore, Japan and Manila are doing very well, and we are thrilled to be able to partner with airports of such scale and importance to global travel. We look forward to expanding our presence in Asia and working with popular brands in each market to offer travellers more options to convert their leftover foreign change.”

TravelersBox was conceptualised when Tomer found himself with his pockets full of change each time he returned from his regular work-trips to New York. He would often forget to bring the coins on his next trip and when he started to count the coins, he realised that he would usually accumulate an average of US$10 to US$15 each time.

On doing a further market study, he found that on average, a tourist actually carries US$20 worth of loose change. With 1.5 billion travellers a year, he realised that this was an untapped market of potentially US$30 billion a year.

After trying to work with banks and credit card companies who were uninterested in micropayments, Tomer thought he could partner with e-wallets and e-Gift card merchants. He then founded the firm together with Idan Deshe to capitalise on this market gap.  

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