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03 November 2008
Sterling’s strength against Australian dollar brings boom in currency sales
Currency retailers offering easy access to Australian dollars have emerged as the surprise winners of sterling’s strength against the currency according to First Rate Exchange Services.
First Rate has announced that in October its currency retailers had a boom month for sales of the Australian dollar. The Post Office® saw its highest ever level of sales of the currency with sales peaking at a record year-on-year increase of 89 per cent in mid-October. Purchases of the currency ran at approximately 40 per cent ahead of the same four-week period in 2007, suggesting that more UK tourists may be heading ‘down under’ this winter.
A major influencer is no doubt sterling’s strength against the Australian dollar. It is currently worth nearly 12 per cent more than a year ago1. Sterling is up 22 per cent to £1/$2.36 compared to £1/$1.94 in July 2008.
Gordon Gourlay, Managing Director of First Rate Exchange Services, said: “Traditionally foreign exchange retailers register the highest demand for Australian dollars later in the year when the long haul season is well underway. However, this year they’ve been reporting higher sales much earlier in the season, perhaps as a result of savvy travellers taking advantage of good exchange rates to stock up early, or more people opting for Australia as a winter sun destination knowing that their pounds will go further down under.”
This view is supported by travel operator Travelbag2, which specialises in tailor-made holidays to Australia. Senior Travel Consultant Lesley Reeves said that with the tightening of belts, Travelbag had seen “a move towards a single ‘blow out’ holiday, generally of three weeks or more, rather than several shorter ones.”
With the exchange rate helping to trim the cost of getting married abroad, more couples are planning a wedding ‘down under’ too. Travelbag said it had seen a significant increase in wedding and honeymoon bookings in recent months as the value of the Australian dollar began to drop.
First Rate is the UK’s leading provider of foreign exchange services and the wholesaler provider behind the market leading foreign exchange service of the Post Office®. In addition to providing the Post Office® with its in branch and online foreign exchange services, First Rate delivers a wide range of innovative white labelled foreign exchange services to businesses large and small 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 traveller’s 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.
Note to Editors:
1Post Office® Australian dollar rates:
27th October 2008: 2.3608 (+11.8 per cent year on year and +21.8 per cent compared with
July 2008)
27th October 2007: 2.1119
28th July 2008: 1.9375
2Travelbag is one of the UK’s leading long haul specialists (www.travelbag.co.uk, 0800 008 7422).
About First Rate Foreign Exchange Services:
First Rate is the UK’s leading provider of foreign currency services supplying over 12,000 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
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.