Business

Coindrum innovation turns coins into vouchers at Belfast International Airport

Coindrum chief executive Lukas Decker with Belfast International Airport commercial services manager Deirdre Graffin (centre) and Michele Hunter, general manager at Aelia Duty Free
Coindrum chief executive Lukas Decker with Belfast International Airport commercial services manager Deirdre Graffin (centre) and Michele Hunter, general manager at Aelia Duty Free Coindrum chief executive Lukas Decker with Belfast International Airport commercial services manager Deirdre Graffin (centre) and Michele Hunter, general manager at Aelia Duty Free

PASSENGERS using Belfast International can now exchange their unused and often nuisance-value sterling or euro coins for enhanced-value travel retail vouchers.

Dublin-based Coindrum, a company run by a group of Irish investors, has installed its first self-service machine at Aldergrove which passengers can now use to convert unwanted coins.

It not only solves the foreign coin inconvenience for travellers, but increases the percentage of people who then shop at airports and often helps speeds up security checks.

Simply deposit all unwanted coins and immediately receive an airport shopping voucher (as an extra incentive it'll be worth £1.10 for every £1 in coins) which can then be spent on anything you like in participating shops (Aelia Duty Free in the case of Belfast International).

A recent study showed that UK travellers returning home have £55.25 worth of foreign coins lying around in their homes, unused and gathering dust.

"Coins that are at best an inconvenience and at worst worthless after departure are ending up in drawers or jars at home," says Coindrum founder and chief executive Lukas Decker.

"Millions of airline passengers worldwide had the same problem until came up with the simple solution of a Coindrum self-service unit, which are now being installed in airports worldwide, including Belfast.

"These allow passengers to deposit their leftover coins in exchange for duty free vouchers worth 110 per cent of the coin values."

He added: “When travelling it was always frustrating for me to always end up with leftover coins which I couldn’t even exchange them. But now you can use them with additional free credit on top to buy things you like, so it's a win-win for both the customer and the airport."

Coindrum is backed by investors including Declan Ryan, co-founder and ex-CEO of Ryanair, together with Enterprise Ireland and other leading European investors such as the founders of Hostelworld and CarTrawler.

Decker concluded: “We are proud of the growth in our partnerships with the key players of the travel-retail industry. The expansion we experienced this year is positively impacting the business results of our partners.”