‘Loose change’ convertor, Coindrum, has opened at its first location with global duty free and travel retailer, Dufry, at Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) terminal one.

The project at MXP places a Coindrum unit right at the entrance of Dufry’s new T1 flagship store. The machine allows passengers to deposit all their unwanted euro coins and in return receive 110% of the value of those coins in the form of an airport shopping voucher.

Diego Marro, T1 Manager for Dufrital (the Dufry’s Italian joint venture) comments: “Coindrum fits in nicely with our ambition to offer the best possible passenger experience while optimising our retail performance.”

With Dufry’s massive consolidation in recent years [it now serves one in four airport DF&TR customers worldwide] Coindrum hopes its new partnership will open new doors for the business.

Asked how many Dufry locations are envisioned after MXP, Lukas Decker, CEO of Coindrum told TRBusiness: “These are yet to be decided – however the project is off to a very good start and there is a huge mutual and untapped opportunity in front of us.”

Andrés Holzer, Vice Chairman and shareholder of Dufry, states: “Dufry’s size means that any solution that drives better commercial results and is scalable is of interest. Coindrum definitely falls into that category.”

COINING IT

Lukas Decker, the 27 year old entrepreneur behind the innovation, comments: “Coindrum addresses a simple but global pain point for passengers. The user uptake is testament to the need for the service which, with every transaction, drives uplift revenue to the tills of our retail partners.”

Holzer adds: “Coins were neglected in the past due to their comparatively low value. It took the Coindrum innovation to demonstrate that they can be used as a psychological trigger to outspend their value at the tills.”

Typically, machines can accept up to four different coin currencies [the most relevant to a location] which can be deposited together in bulk. The idea is that passengers can get rid of coins they think they will not uses again as they depart a country and get 10% more than the value of them as a store voucher.

By spending the voucher at the airport’s stores the passenger is highly likely to spend more than the voucher amount thus adding incremental sales for DF&TR operators.