An innovative new customer service was introduced at Faro Airport this week that lets customers use the “Coindrum” machines to convert all their unwanted coins into a shopping voucher for the Duty Free Store.
Its main advantage for travellers is that they won’t have unwanted Euro coins currency left once they depart Portugal, however the service also offers an extra perk: vouchers are worth 10% more than whatever customers deposit into the unit.
The clever idea is a cooperation between the Irish based start-up success Coindrum and travel retailer Lojas Francas de Portugal (LFP). The first joint unit was placed at the entrance of the main departure Duty Free Store, just after the security check.
The service launched in time for the main tourist season, and will be directed primarily at UK passengers who can leave all leftover Euro coins behind before returning home, netting them an extra 10 % free shopping credit on the deposited value. The customer service encourages more passengers to shop, which is a much welcome side effect for LFP.
José Rosa, Managing Director of Lojas Francas de Portugal stated: “The new Coindrum service is a great offer for passengers to dispose of their unwanted coins, whilst getting more value for their money. Beyond solving an inconvenience the service will also get more people to start browsing the LFP retail offerings.”
The momentum behind the business is high since the partnership with the market leading travel retail giant Dufry was launched in Milan Malpensa T1. Coindrum is quickly rolling out the innovation with its retail partners into the footprint of their portfolio airports. The founder and CEO Lukas Decker on the most recent expansion: “We are excited about yet another travel retail partnership that allows us to offer even more travellers a great opportunity to avoid the foreign coin inconvenience, and instead to buy something they love with a bit of extra free credit on top.”
Mr. Decker and Mr. Rosa were also joined by Ms. Katie Morrisroe, the Deputy Head of Mission & Consul at the Irish Embassy in Portugal for the launch celebration at Faro Airport. The Irish government is amongst the financial backers of Coindrum, which also includes industry heavyweights such as the founders of Ryanair, Hostelworld and CarTrawler. Ms. Morrisroe commented on the latest launch: “We are proud to support an Irish innovation that is on a clear trajectory to international success. Coindrum is a simple solution with big impact for travel retailers around the world.” Bobby Healy of CarTrawler who recently became a shareholder as well as Chairperson of Coindrum added: “I believe this will be another great Irish success story in Travel Tech.”
See the video below, or visit www.coindrum.com to find out more!
