Thomas Cook offering ‘virus free’ travel money

Thomas Cook customers can order foreign currency money online or via a dedicated app. They have the option of receiving “Clean Currency” which is brand new, freshly printed, virus-free Euros and US Dollars, in sealed tamper-proof packaging.

The new service aims to tap into the market that saw Brits spend £48bn overseas last year.

Thomas Cook’s Travel Money service offers more than 50 currencies which it says cover 98% of worldwide destinations. Thomas Cook also claims to offer holidaymakers better exchange rates than the Post Office.

Thomas Cook travel money orders are delivered by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, with free delivery on all orders over £500. There is next business day delivery for most currencies for orders received by 1pm on business days.

David Scott, head of ancillaries and financial services at Thomas Cook, said: “Despite the shift to digital money when spending at home, we know our customers are still twice as likely to take at least some cash when spending abroad. Cash is preferred by many people because it helps with budgeting on holiday and avoids over-spending. We’ve created a digital solution that means we can offer fantastic rates on holiday money and it can be delivered the next day to an address of your choice.

“The app also means you can plan ahead and let it monitor the markets for a particular rate meaning you lock in the best exchange rate in preparation for your holiday. Our new business is all about making booking and enjoying a holiday as simple and easy as possible in a digital way and our new app is the next stage of that.”

Chinese conglomerate Fosun bought the Thomas Cook brand after it fell into administration in September 2019 after last minute negotiations to save the company failed.

Thomas Cook relaunched as an online-only brand last month. It’s currently only selling holidays to destinations with no quarantine requirements on return to the UK.