News & views

20 June 2008

First Rate provides Post Office^® with euro and US dollar ATM currency service

First Rate Exchange Services is providing the Post Office^® with a euro and US dollar currency service from 13 specially designed ATMs for a trial of a new foreign exchange service in selected Post Office^® branches.

Customers using the ATMs, which are provided by the Bank of Ireland, will simply need to insert their debit cards and select to receive either euros or US dollars. There will be no charge for withdrawing cash and they will get the same great exchange rate as over the counter, and withdrawals are commission-free too.

The announcement comes as recent figures show that there were 309 million overseas transactions on UK-issued cards last year (three per cent of all transactions on UK-issued cards). In fact using a debit card to withdraw cash abroad is so popular with UK holidaymakers that a total of £7.1 billion was withdrawn from overseas cash machines in 2007.*

The new ATM currency service is part of a wide range of wholesale, white-labelled, foreign exchange services provided by First Rate. Gordon Gourlay, Managing Director, First Rate commented: “We recognise that our clients need to offer great value and convenient foreign exchange services which meet their customers’ changing needs. Providing the Post Office^® with a euro and US dollar ATM currency service is just the latest move in a number of innovative new services developed by First Rate in recent months. These vary from the introduction of a Chinese yuan on demand service to the provision of a fully automated online foreign currency ordering and home delivery offer.”

First Rate is the UK’s leading provider of foreign exchange services to foreign currency retailers. In addition to providing the Post Office^® with its in branch and online foreign exchange services First Rate offers a variety of foreign exchange services to large and small businesses across the UK.

First Rate’s Travel Money Online solution provides high street and online retailers with a fully integrated online platform, allowing them to offer their customers access to over 70 currencies, notes and travellers cheques, currency advice and secure online payment. First Rate’s Travel Money Online service also allows customers to select their required delivery date, with orders received before 3pm available for delivery the next business day to addresses across the UK.

The 13 euro and US dollar ATMs are now operational. All ATMs are located in main Post Office^® bureau de change branches.

Note to Editors:

* Figures sourced from APACS

Although no charge will be made by the Post Office^® some card issuers may charge their customers for making foreign currency withdrawals via the new ATM service.

Post Office^® ATM locations are as follows:

• Ashford
• Harrogate
• Fareham
• Bristol
• Basingstoke
• Solihull
• Harlow
• City of London
• Birmingham
• Stockport
• Crawley
• Trafalgar Square
• Dartford

About First Rate Foreign Exchange Services:

First Rate is the UK’s leading provider of foreign currency services supplying over 13,000 retail outlets with a foreign currency service. It is the UK’s biggest foreign currency notes supplier and Europe’s major provider of traveller’s cheques and in the top five globally. First Rate sources currency through its associate business unit Bank of Ireland First Currency Services, one of the world’s leading wholesale currency operations.

First Rate can provide UK retailers and businesses with the following foreign currency services:

• Travel Money Online – a service enabling the ordering of foreign currency notes and traveller’s cheques securely via First Rate’s white label internet application
• Bulk provision of currency for currency retailers
• End-to-end consumer order processing – totally outsourced, white label currency solutions for phone, internet or retail outlet order placement

To find out more visit www.firstrate.co.uk.

For further information, please contact:

Four Countries Communications
Ruth Barker
Tel: 0207 749 9219
Mobile: 07814 571128
Email: ruth@fourcountries.co.uk

Bank of Ireland UK Financial Services
Sandra Grandison
Tel: 0207 634 3477
Mobile: 07912 298013
Email: sandra.grandison@boiuk.com

About Bank of Ireland ATMs:

Post Office^® cash machines are provided by Bank of Ireland. In the two years since their partnership began, more than 1200 ‘Free-to-use’ ATMs have been installed in Post Office^® branches throughout the country.

First Rate Exchange Services Ltd is registered in the UK and Supervised by HM Revenue & Customs for Money Service Business (MSB): License number 12133160. First Rate is a joint venture between The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland (Registered in Ireland and passported into the UK for regulatory purposes) and the Post Office^® Ltd. The Bank of Ireland is authorised by the Irish Financial Regulator and the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of business in the UK. Bank of Ireland First Currency Services is a division of The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland.