WHEN Your Customers Buy Foreign Currency – and Why it Matters
Declan Morton
September 2, 2025
For bureaux de change, knowing when customers are likely to buy foreign currency is a good guide for effective marketing and timely advertising. And while there isn’t always a link between date of booking a holiday and purchasing travel money, it helps to understand both.
Current trends suggest UK travellers are booking holidays earlier than has been the case in the last few years, although there is still a significant market for late bookings. Distinct booking patterns also emerge across different holiday types. Understanding these trends can help currency exchange businesses provide the right service at the right time – and at the right price.
Advanced Bookings Are on the Rise
UK travellers are planning further ahead. There’s a natural desire to take advantage of early booking offers, but capacity to some destinations is also constrained. Availability and protecting against future price rises also play a part. A recent YouGov survey found that over half of British holidaymakers book at least four months before departure, with 27% securing trips more than six months in advance.
This shift has implications for bureaux de change. Traditionally, many travellers buy foreign currency just before departure. The majority of travellers still buy it within the month before travel, and it’s rare to buy travel money a long way in advance. Research in 2019 found that most leisure travellers from the UK buy travel money 7 to 14 days before departure. There’s little to suggest that pattern has changed.
So… it’s worth making foreign currency services visible during peak booking periods, like January and the Black Friday sales in November. That way, when customers do come to buy their travel money they will know where to buy it – your bureau de change.
And for the most popular currencies? Keep an eye on advertising nationally, and also pay attention to the destinations being promoted by local travel agents.
Different Holidays, Different Timelines
Booking windows vary significantly by holiday type. According to ABTA,
- Family holidays are often booked a year in advance, particularly for summer trips.
- City breaks and spontaneous getaways tend to have shorter lead times, often booked within 2–3 months of departure.
- Luxury and long-haul travel is frequently booked 6+ months ahead, particularly for premium experiences.
For bureaux de change, this means adapting promotional strategies to make the most of these periods. Look at peak booking times and popular destinations, and at departure dates. Target promotional activity to take advantage of all these factors.
The Decline of the January Rush
Traditionally, January was the peak month for holiday bookings. It’s still important, but booking behaviours are now more spread out. Black Friday travel deals and early deposit schemes mean many trips are now booked in autumn. By the end of 2024, nearly a quarter of travellers had already booked for summer 2025.
For currency exchange providers, this means focusing on multiple marketing peaks rather than a single push. November, March, and late spring/early summer are now equally important periods for attracting customers. The point here is that anyone looking to buy currency ahead of travel needs to be aware of where to buy it when they need it.
Foreign Currency Cash Remains Important.
Not all bookings happen months in advance. According to YouGov, approximately 15% of travellers book within a month of departure, often for spontaneous city breaks or flexible long-haul trips. For bureaux de change, this group remains an important market, particularly those who rely on cash for destinations with limited card acceptance. Sales may only be a few hundred Euros or Dollars each time, but cumulatively that can be significant revenue.
Foreign currency as cash is still important, despite the convenience of paying by card. Research from Mintel suggests that more than 60% of UK holiday-makers take foreign currency cash when they go abroad. That’s too big a market to ignore.
How Money4Travel Can Help
With travel bookings spread across the year, currency exchange businesses need a data-driven approach to marketing. Money4Travel provides bureaux de change with online tools to drive business. Their postcode population counter can help anticipate demand as well as guide advertising. Money4Travel’s consumer interface is easy to use and helps travellers find local currency exchangers within ten minutes of their postcode. The combination is a powerful way for bureaux de change to attract customers and build loyalty.
To explore how Money4Travel can help your business maximise local opportunities, visit https://exchangers.money4travel.com/.
By Declan Morton, writer and editor at Money4Travel – the online service for foreign currency sales in the UK. More about the author.
For reference: Travel booking trends: How far in advance do Brits plan? YouGov, October 2024; Travel Money: Making The Most Of The Buying Window, Consumer Intelligence, April 2019; ABTA Travel Trends Conference 2024, Adido Digital, December 2024; Nearly a quarter of people ‘have already booked overseas holidays for 2025’, Shropshire Star/ American Express, December 2024; UK Travel Money Market Report 2024, Mintel 2024.
