Brazil currency running low ahead of World Cup
05/06/2014
The availability of Brazilian currency, The Real, is running low among some major British suppliers, sparking fears for travellers ahead of the Football World Cup which starts in just one week.
Major currency supplier, Travelex, has run out of the Brazilian Real at both Manchester and Heathrow airports, whilst the Post Office will not have the currency in its branches until the weekend.
Travelex has claimed the supply issues are a result of a 1000% increase in demand, which has been exacerbated by an overall shortage of suppliers who actually stock the Brazilian Real.
Elvin Eldić, head of UK retail at Travelex said: “Being one of the few foreign exchange providers who stock the Brazilian Real we are seeing unprecedented levels of demand”.
He continued to concede that because of this increase in demand they are “experiencing a temporary shortage” at the Travelex stores in both Heathrow and Manchester airports.
However, he did claim that they are “working hard” to redistribute stock from their retail network ahead of England’s first World Cup game, which is against Italy.
Currency stocks to be replenished by the weekend
Andrew Brown, from Post Office Travel Money also cited “unprecedented demand” as sales increase by 400% year-on-year. However, he also said that despite Post Office branches running out of the currency, “stocks will be replenished by the weekend in time for fans travelling to Brazil for England’s first match”.
In order to avoid any additional complications ahead of travelling to the World Cup, he said that England fans should re-order currency online or in any of their branches. He also advised that travellers should consider taking a “small mix of US Dollars”, as these are widely accepted throughout the country.
However, Keith Pilbeam, professor of economics and finance at City University in London called this “management incompetence” as there is “no global shortage of Brazilian Reals”.
He continued: "It's down to foreign exchanges to estimate the demand for a particular currency, and stock up accordingly."
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