There was a large jump in the foreign currencies purchased for the card in 2022, reports Shauna McCrudden
New figures from An Post Money reveal the volume of transactions and the top travel destinations for Irish tourists, as they take to the skies in a bumper post-pandemic travel wave. This wave sees travel returning to over 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
With 350,000 transactions from January to May across the currencies offered by An Post on their pre-paid Mastercard, the appetite for travel has returned with a bang, despite ongoing travel disruption and unrest. 300,000 of the transactions were in cash, 40,000 were card-based transactions and 11,000 new cards were issued over the period.
The US, UK and Australia are the top destinations for Irish tourists with 43% of currency spend in the USA, 15% in the UK, 9% in Australia and 4% in Canada. An Post offers 16 currencies as part of the An Post Money’s Currency Card and 5 currencies in cash.
There was a significant jump in the foreign currencies purchased in May 2022, six times higher than the same period in 2021 and three times higher than January 2022.
The most common categories for customer spending were on food, with shopping following in 2nd and hotels placing 3rd in the overall ranking. Looking at ATM withdrawals, the average customer withdrew approximately €145 per transaction.
Debbie Byrne, Managing Director of An Post Retail, said, “The trends are showing us that we are open and excited to travel, not just to the UK or Europe but even further afield. With our travel money offerings, we take the stress out of foreign travel.”
The An Post Money Currency Card is a prepaid Mastercard® which allows customers to top up and purchase in 16 currencies on a single card. There is 0% commission for foreign currency transactions when spending in a currency pre-loaded onto the card. Currencies include US Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, South African Rand, Swiss Francs, Turkish Lira, United Arab Emirates Dirham, Czech Koruna, Croatian Kuna, Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso, Polish Zloty, Swedish Krona.
Debbie Byrne adds, “It is hugely positive to see this phenomenal return to travel after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus for many.”
Customers can sign up for the An Post Money Currency Card at their local post office. For more information, visit anpost.com/Money/Foreign-Currency/Currency-Card
Shauna McCrudden
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