ECONOMIC FOCUS CHAMBER NEWS
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Bahrain, helping to foster relations in the vibrant expat community as well as engaging in charitable activities within local communities.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the emerging opportunities for your industry in the future with the development of new technologies? The online channel continues to grow globally, as people become increasingly comfortable with technology and take advantage of the ability to combine both value and convenience. In some of our more mature markets, online travel money orders can represent up to one third of our business. We hope to develop these sites further to add additional products and services as well as making them fully transactional. Connected to that is the mobile channel, which will continue to grow as smartphone technology becomes the norm for many. This is an area we would
like to explore further allowing people to manage their currency on the go. Self-service functionality is becoming increasingly popular and already we have seen strong year on year growth. The convenience of ATMs appeals to both business and leisure travellers alike. As the Middle East market matures, we believe the ATM channel will be a key area of growth.
Is there any final message that you would like to leave with our readers? Just to reiterate that as a company we are totally committed to developing both our product portfolio and footprint within the Middle East. While there have been some challenging times in recent years, the future for the region is incredibly bright and we look forward to playing our part in contributing to what is a thriving and dynamic part of the world to live in.
Travelex is a member of the Arab British Chamber of Commerce
CONTACT Graham Flannery can be contacted at: Graham.Flannery@travelex.com