News

Travelex buys Dutch bank, extends into cross-border payments, other services

March 25, 2004

LONDON-British-based Travelex, widely known for its airport kiosks, is acquiring a small Dutch bank from Fortis, extending the UK foreign exchange firm's reach of retail and commercial offerings across Europe.

Travelex has agreed to pay €17.5m for GWK, the Belgian-Dutch group's specialist cash handling business, which operates 50 branches as well as an ATM network, reported the Financial Times of London.

The acquisition allows Travelex to offer such services as crossborder payments for businesses, money transfers and cash handling. Big banks are increasingly selling off such services in a cost-cutting measure.

"Crumbs for their table represent a very big feast for us," Clive Kahn, chief financial officer of the privately held group, told the newspaper.

Over the past two years, Travelex has spent €60m on acquisitions to expand its product line, most prominently its corporate payment market, now the company's largest and most profitable division.