Fexco acquires UK foreign exchange operator Changelink

Kerry-based financial services group Fexco has acquired UK foreign exchange operator Changelink for an undisclosed sum.

Set up in 1972, Changelink is the longest-established, specialist retail foreign exchange operator.

The Changelink transaction is Fexco’s seventh acquisition in the UK since 2012 and gives it a 10 per cent share of the travel money market there.

It now serves the travel money requirement of more than three million customers to a value of almost €2 billion, and employs more than 400 people through its network of 110 branches in the UK and Ireland.

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Commenting on the deal, Joe Redmond, managing director of Fexco’s retail foreign exchange division, said: “We are very pleased to have bought a business with the track record of Changelink, which was the UK’s first non-bank provider of retail foreign exchange services.

“This acquisition is indicative of our strong belief that cash will continue to play an important part in British travellers’ foreign exchange needs, and we continue to look for further acquisitions to grow our UK business,” he said.

“As bank charges associated with using debit and credit cards increase, and fraud levels rise, customers are increasingly seeing benefits in the convenience, reliability, security, anonymity and value that foreign cash provides.

“This explains why our transactions and revenues are growing exponentially every year, and why there are more banknotes in circulation today than ever before. The assertion that everyone is migrating to cards or mobile-based payments is not being demonstrated in our customers’ behaviour.”

Mr Redmond cited a recent survey of Fexco customers, which found that 90 per cent said they would still be using cash in five years' time with only 15 per cent considering travelling without cash.