Australia Post goes global

Australia Post is fast becoming a serious player in the travel market, establishing itself as a one-stop-shop for many holiday must-haves and for a growing number of jet-setting Aussies, the first stop on their itinerary may well be their nearest post office.

Whether it’s an African safari or a family trip to Disneyland, holiday planning would have at least included a trip to the travel agent, the bank and the local photo-processing lab for that dreaded passport photo.

Australia Post, which has a strong market given that more than one million Australians visit their outlets each day and it processes up to one million passport applications annually, is ramping up its travel-related services and has this week added to its travel stable, the Travelex Cash Passport.

Travelex’s Graham Perry said the pre-paid travel money card was now more accessible than ever before, adding, “With more than 3,200 Australia Post outlets offering the Travelex Cash Passport, travellers can simply pop into a local outlet and pre-load their holiday funds onto a Cash Passport – on the spot”.

He added, “The card can be used at any Visa ATM around the world, and because the Cash Passport is available in Euro, US Dollars and British Pounds, travellers can lock in their exchange rate and avoid currency fluctuations.”  

With the Australian dollar hitting record levels, Perry said, “now is a good time to lock in your rate on a Cash Passport from Australia Post”, adding, “Anyone irrespective of their age can choose to load their travel funds onto a Cash Passport at a moment’s notice”.

According to Terry Stephens, Australia Post Financial Services Group Manager, Australians are travelling internationally in unprecedented numbers and Australia Post is now a vital stop before heading overseas, adding, “Last year Australians took more than 4.8 million international trips and in January alone more than 420,000 of us headed overseas.*” 

“A great trip requires careful planning and all it takes is just one post office visit to sort out a host of critical travel needs,” said Stephens.

He added, “It is the destination for passport applications and renewals, passport photos, picking up some travel accessories and tourist guides, purchasing overseas calling cards and, from now, arranging Australia’s leading pre-paid travel money card and for reasons of personal security, travellers should also remember to arrange for their mail to be held or redirected.”

“An overflowing mail box, or worse still, the risk of identity fraud, can be easily avoided with some simple holiday planning.” Stephens said.

* ABS – Overseas Arrivals & Departures trend figure.

Report by The Mole