Two thirds of consumers who plan to travel within the next two years still plan to take holiday cash, according to research.
Despite the declining use of cash at home, Brits strongly prefer cash above other forms of payment including debit cards, credit cards and currency cards, said the 2021 Travel Money Report from market research specialist Mintel.
The research findings have been highlighted by Spendology, the mail order travel cash service.
The fintech company said its white-labelled options offer the travel trade “profit-boosting opportunities” as the holiday market resumes.
Spendology added the UK’s travel cash market is worth £62.3 billion and claimed to be the only company to offer a white label mail order travel cash service with delivery to any UK address.
The service allows travel companies to make an additional margin on each currency order – with the service itself fully outsourced to Spendology for order processing, payment, fulfilment, delivery and customer support.
Last summer, it launched the Covid-conscious Clean Currency product, offering sealed bundles of new, sterile banknotes “to give peace of mind and reassurance to nervous travellers”.
Mintel is predicting that pent-up traveller demand will prompt a recovery in the travel money market.
Over the next five years, Mintel predicts that the value of Brits’ spending overseas will return to growth, and expenditure is forecast to treble between 2020 and 2022.
Karen Gee, Spendology’s marketing and business development director, said: “While there has been a significant shift towards contactless and card payments during the pandemic at home, this is not being mirrored for overseas holidays, with Brits still firmly choosing travel cash over every other form of payment.
“With travel businesses now looking more closely at their profit and loss, Spendology’s compliance-ready mail order travel cash service can help boost their passenger margins and improve the profitability of each booking.
“Our digital, white label travel cash service is a quick win for any company involved in overseas travel, improving passenger margins with no risk and virtually no effort.”
Larger businesses with established digital teams will also be able to use the Spendology software to sell currency via price comparison sites and on social media.