Lukas Decker, CEO Coindrum: “Our first projects proved the Coindrum proposition both in terms of the technology as well as the commercial feasibility. In particular, the commercial results were exciting and exceeded the expectations of the airport and travel retailer.”
Coindrum is participating in this year’s 25th ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition, showcasing its innovation designed to enhance travel retail opportunities. Ahead of the event, Lukas Decker, CEO Coindrum, briefed Marta Dimitrova on the solution, and also the recent funding round.
Unwanted coins have always been an inconvenience for travellers, as well as for airport security points. With this in mind, Coindrum, a Dublin-based company, has designed an innovative way to solve this inconvenience, by creating self-service machines in airports, which passengers use to convert unwanted coins into airport shopping vouchers.
Coindrum’s innovative solution has managed to spark the attention of high-profile investors. Launched in 2014, this year Coindrum receives further backing worth $2 million from high-profile investors, including Declan Ryan, Tom Kennedy from Hostelworld, Bobby Healy of CarTrawler, international investor and entrepreneur Nicole Junkermann, and Patrick Joy of Suretank. “The network, experience and travel tech track record of our backers is a great asset,” says Lukas Decker, CEO Coindrum.
Coindrum recently completed a funding round worth more than $2 million. Significant investment will be made in further growing the Coindrum team to cater to demand for the innovation.
Coindrum plans to expand its team to cater to demand for the innovation, while also investing in more Coindrum units. “We offer the Coindrum service with no set-up costs or risk for our airport and travel retail partners, which means we front the capital expenditure for the equipment. However, capital is unlikely to be a limiting factor in terms of scaling speed for us, as we also have financing partnerships in place for the units,” Decker comments.
So, how does it work? Coindrum allows passengers to convert their unwanted coins into duty free shopping vouchers. Not only is it a free service, but also customers receive a bonus of 10% free shopping credit when they use Coindrum machines. Therefore, a passenger would get €5.50 if they put €5 worth of coins into a Coindrum machine. A quick look at the social media accounts shows the enthusiasm of Coindrum’s customers. “This is also reflected in the fast growth of user uptake and that the repeat business was ever-growing, especially once people understood that the service was genuinely offered at no charge,” Decker explains.
The service creates a ‘win-win’ solution for travellers and airports, as well as their travel retail partners. Unwanted coins are no longer a problem for passengers, but rather an opportunity to buy something they love. “The travel retail partners are key beneficiaries as the service, almost as a by-product to a customer service, makes non-spenders spend,” Decker adds.
Coindrum machines were first trialled and launched at Dublin Airport, and the company expects to sign deals with additional major airports, to be revealed soon.
Coindrum will showcase the innovation at this year’s ACI EUROPE Airport Commercial & Retail Conference & Exhibition. “We designed the proposition in a way that there is no downside to trying the service, and we look forward to having a more detailed chat about it in Helsinki. Every international airport in the world should have this service, so we have a lot of work to do,” concludes Decker.
