TravelersBox raises $10M for currency exchange kiosks

Series A round will enable Israel-based company to quintuple its footprint at airports globally

TravelersBox, provider of airport kiosks for saving leftover foreign currency, today announced that it has secured a $10 million Series A round led by Arbor Ventures along with participation from existing investors.

As part of the new round, Melissa Guzy of Arbor Ventures will join TravelersBox’s board of directors.

To date, the company has raised $15.5 million in funding from Pitango Venture Capital, IPE Ventures, Pereg Ventures, iAngels, Global Blue, and angel investors Yuval Tal (founder and president of Payoneer), Zohar Gilon (managing partner at Tamar Ventures), Yanai Oron (general partner at Vertex Ventures Israel), Roy Gabriel, Moti Rivlin (CEO of Dragon Options), and Harel Kodesh (CTO of GE Software).

“TravelersBox offers the type of solution that makes you wonder why no one thought of it sooner,” said Mr. Tal.

And it’s true.

If you’ve ever traveled internationally, then you’ve faced the problem that TravelersBox aims to fix. Basically, at the end of a trip in a foreign country, you end up with a wallet full of a foreign currency that’s useless back home. If it was a one-time visit for leisure—and the leftover amount is small—you’re likely to just take the money back as a souvenir. But if you go travel frequently—or if the leftover amount is considerable—you don’t want to simply lose that money.

The solution offered by TravelersBox is a kiosk right in the airport that lets travelers convert leftover foreign currency (including both bills and coins) into digital currency. The traveler has a few options: they can submit the funds directly to their PayPal account, purchase a gift card for a participating vendor (like iTunes or Starbucks), or make a charitable donation.

To make money, the company charges a 7 percent fee per transaction. I asked the company to share how much revenue TravelersBox generates yearly but they're not disclosing financials at this stage.

As of today, the company has installed 75 kiosks at airports across Canada, Italy, Turkey, Georgia, Israel (where TravelersBox is headquartered), and the Philippines. And it says it has facilitated millions of transactions.

“There are more than 3 billion international travelers every year, and our mission is to provide an easy way for those travelers to regain the lost value of their unused foreign currency,” said Tomer Zussman, founder and CEO of TravelersBox, in a prepared statement.

TravelersBox will use its new funding to fuel international expansion, particularly in Asia, with a new office opening and deployments planned for Japan, India and New Zealand. Globally, the company plans to deploy 300 kiosks this year alone.

Additionally, TravelersBox will use the funds to continue hiring across the company and investing in research & development to improve its technology. One upcoming software update will let TravelersBox customers convert their foreign currency into digital funds at duty free shops and other airport retailers.