Stuck with leftover foreign change at the airport? Now there’s an app for that
If you’re a frequent traveler, you can attest to the fact that there’s nothing more annoying than leaving the airport with a bunch of leftover cash.
You’re not sure when you’ll come back to this country so the money is probably worthless. Going to a currency exchange booth isn’t a viable option because they don’t accept coins. You either buy something you don’t need at a random shop in the airport or stuff it into your drawer back home, where it’ll probably be lost forever.
You’re not sure when you’ll come back to this country so the money is probably worthless. Going to a currency exchange booth isn’t a viable option because they don’t accept coins. You either buy something you don’t need at a random shop in the airport or stuff it into your drawer back home, where it’ll probably be lost forever.
That’s the problem Ali Zekeria is aiming to solve with his startup. He recently launchedWorldKoins, a marketplace where travelers can find people who’ll accept their leftover currency and transfer it back to a service of their choice – like PayPal.
All currencies are accepted, provided that the collector agrees to transact with them.
How it works is fairly simple. Travelers identify and locate “collectors” through the WorldKoins app and deposit their spare change with them. These collectors, who could be anyone from your Uber driver to your coffee shop barista, will validate the transaction through a separate app, DropKoins, and credit the traveler’s WorldKoins account. A small commission will be charged for the service, which is split between the startup and the collector.
The remaining amount can be used to redeem all sorts of goodies, such as an iTunes gift card, PayPal top-up, Google Play credit, or a charitable donation. All currencies are accepted, provided that the collector agrees to transact with them.
“There are more than one billion international travelers per year and every single one of them is facing this problem: what to do with the leftover travel money once back home,” says Ali, who’s based in Malaysia. “The challenge is to come with a simple yet effective solution that is scalable enough for worldwide reach and shall be simple with a user-friendly interface.”
Ali says all transactions made through WorldKoins are completely secure. Each exchange is encrypted and validated through a one-time password. After collectors key in the financial data, a text message is sent to the traveler breaking down the transaction details and giving a password required to close the deal. If travelers are satisfied, they can relay the password back to the collector who will key it into the app. The approach minimizes the chance of discrepancies and keeps both parties satisfied.
The exchange rate that the service uses is the prevailing one offered by banks and is constantly refreshed in real-time. Right now there’s no option of transferring cash to one’s personal bank account, but Ali says they’re constantly expanding the marketplace and adding new features.
WorldKoins solves the same problem as TravelersBox but takes a different approach. Rather than building an ATM-like machine that swallows your spare change, Ali’s startup is making a web-based marketplace because it’s easier to scale. Theoretically, it can circumvent unwieldy fintech regulations and the necessity to work with local authorities, both of which take time.
But TravelersBox is well-funded, offers a sleeker experience, and has proven traction so it remains to be seen which of the two will come out on top.
Ali says WorldKoins has a “few hundred” monthly active users, but remains upbeat on the future.
“WorldKoins is easily scalable and we plan to get our service available around the world within a few years,” he explains.
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