Post Office expands travel money card range

As part of a major expansion in the scope of its pre-paid Travel Money Card Plus, Post Office Travel Money has introduced five more currency cards.  This means that eight leading currencies are available on a pre-paid card - the widest range on offer in high streets across the UK.  Alongside the established euro, US dollar and sterling cards, the Post Office has added Travel Money Cards in Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars, South African rand and Swiss franc.

The Post Office is the only foreign exchange provider with a nationwide network of branches to offer a pre-paid card in Swiss francs - giving customers across the UK easy access to this currency loaded onto a card. This is a timely introduction since Swiss ski resorts are gearing up to open for the winter 2012/2013 season in just over a month's time.

In another innovation to its service, customers can apply for a Travel Money Card Plus in all eight currencies at any one of the Post Office's 11,500 branches - effectively almost quadrupling the availability across the Post Office network. They can apply for a card and load holiday cash onto it in their local branch, with delivery of a personalised Travel Money Card Plus direct to their home within 6-8 days.

And in addition to offering all eight currencies, the full Post Office branch network can now provide a top-up service, making it quick and convenient for customers to add holiday money to their card when they feel the exchange rate is favourable.

The Post Office pioneered the travel pre-paid card concept when it launched the Travel Money Card across the UK in 2006. In 2011 it followed this up with the Travel Money Card Plus, a chip and PIN-enabled Mastercard®, which allows customers to lock in its most competitive exchange rate for a pre-paid card on the day of purchase.  The card can be used like a debit card in millions of shops, bars and restaurants, as well as at ATMs, across the world.

At the same time it introduced balance-checking facilities and SMS top-up, enabling users to add funds while travelling abroad.  These features are available for the five new currency cards.

Earlier this year, the Post Office announced that cash loaded onto the Travel Money Card Plus had reached the milestone £100 million market - with almost £2 million a week being placed onto cards in advance of the busy summer getaway.

Andrew Brown, Post Office Head of Travel Money, said: "Pre-paid cards are now becoming an increasingly important travel money option - offering an enviable level of safety and security for travellers overseas as they are quite separate to your bank account. The Post Office has been at the forefront of travel money card developments since 2006 and our latest innovations are designed to provide more choice and convenience to the growing number of customers using a pre-paid card.

"The timing of the new currency introductions could not be better with the winter sun season now fully underway.  The four long haul currencies now available on a Travel Money Card Plus all feature in our top 12 bestsellers and South Africa featured as one of the top 10 best value destinations in the recent Post Office Long Haul Report. These are, of course, key destinations for gap year travellers as well as for people visiting family and friends in these countries over the Christmas period."

"What's more, the availability of the Swiss franc Travel Money Card Plus will be particularly useful to skiers as the ski season gets underway this December."