• 28 Jan, 2015
• Business, Nature

Coindrum, a service which allows passengers to convert unwanted coins into airport retail vouchers before departing into different currency jurisdictions, has expanded its service to West airport Knock following its debut at Dublin airport in December.

Coindrum has introduced a free service that will allows travellers to convert unwanted Euro coins into shopping vouchers for use in the local travel value airport retailer Shop West. The expanding business aims to provide a welcome boost for the local travel-retail operation as more passengers are incentivised to shop, whilst also solving their coin inconvenience.

The self-service machines can be used by passengers for free to deposit all unwanted coins before departing to mostly UK destinations, where Euro coins would otherwise turn into a nuisance. Customers are immediately reimbursed with a voucher that can be spent in Shop West, the local airport retailer. The proposition was first established in Dublin airport  at The Loop duty-free store last month where a strong user uptake and the win-win nature of the proposition contributed to the flood of enquiries by airports and travel retailers around the world.

Founder and CEO of the start-up Lukas Decker said: “Our automated service is a fantastic tool for any travel retailer or airport looking to drive retail revenue and people love the convenience of the service, which is completely free to them.”

Ireland West Airport Knock experienced the busiest year of its 29-year history in 2014 with over 700,000 passengers. Coupled with the overwhelming proportion of travellers heading towards the UK and leaving the Euro currency area, the airport is a great match for Coindrum. Ireland West Airport Knock marketing manager Donal Healy stated: “We quickly realised the need for this service, both from the perspective of our customers as well as in terms of further optimising our retail business.”

Coindrum has secured an array of leading financial and technology partners to pave the way for its global expansion ambitions and is also hoping to add its first charity donation option in the near future. Several major international charities have already partnered with the company for future collaborations.

Coindrum is backed by Ryanair co-founder and managing partner of Irelandia Aviation Declan Ryan.