M&S Travel Money gears up for its busiest time of year

M&S Travel Money has reported that as most British travellers wait until 10 days before their summer break to start their holiday shopping*, and with many state schools in England not breaking-up until Friday 23rd July the next few days are expected to be when most parents buy their travel essentials.

M&S Travel Money research** shows that 69% of people buy foreign currency before travelling, to pay for goods and services overseas. Almost nine out of 10 people (89%) claim getting good value on their travel currency is vitally important to them***.

James Yerkess, M&S Head of Travel Money, said: "It’s encouraging that so many holidaymakers are buying their travel money in advance, as it’s always a good idea to buy before you fly and make the best of competitive exchange rates on the high street."

Data from M&S Travel Money reveals that currencies used in some of the most popular tourist destinations have increased in value against the pound, meaning Brits will find the cost of everyday items more expensive. For example the pound has dropped in value by 7% against the US dollar and 11% against the Mexican peso.

However, there are eight currencies (Latvian lats, Estonia kroon, euro, Bulgarian lev, Hungarian forint, Danish krone, Czech koruna and Croatia kuna), against which sterling has increased in value since summer 2009.

M&S Money has geared up for its typical annual increase in foreign currency sales of over 60% during the peak holiday season. More than half of all currency orders will be for euros, as Brits head for family holidays in Europe.

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Notes to Editors
* Quaestor Research & Marketing Strategists, quantitative research of 319 respondents for M&S Travel Money, June 2006.
** Research carried out on behalf of M&S Money by YouGov between 19th-21st May 2008 among 2,128 GB adults. The survey was carried out online. Figures weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18 and over).
*** M&S Travel Money survey was conducted by 72 Point / OnePoll in May 2010. It polled 3,000 UK adults.

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About M&S Money
M&S Money (the trading name of Marks & Spencer Financial Services) was founded in 1985 as the financial services division of Marks and Spencer Group plc, making 2010 the company's 25th anniversary.

The company is a top-ten credit card provider and the second-largest travel money retailer in the UK. M&S Money also offers a range of insurance cover, including home and contents insurance and insurance for cars, as well as loans, savings and investment products.

In November 2004, Marks & Spencer sold M&S Money to HSBC. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,364 billion at 31 December 2009, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.

M&S Money has an executive committee comprising an equal number of representatives from HSBC and Marks & Spencer.

For more information:
Simon Coughlin
Media Relations Manager
M&S Money
8 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HQ
020 7992 1574
money.marksandspencer.com