This is hundreds of dollars' worth of lire, pounds and yen. Overall sales of traveler's checks are shrinking markedly. American Express, which sells the leading brand, experienced a drop in 1999 from 1998, although it has increased its sales in the last three quarters, versus the same period a year earlier. Nancy Muller, a spokeswoman, said that after a period of decline, the company was selling the checks very aggressively, with emphasis on United States travel. There are changes in modern life that explain why offering currency on the Web is an idea whose time has come.
ATMs are common and live tellers scarce.
Since an ATM at this moment produces only the currency of the country it is in, getting foreign currency requires tellers, and that means standing in line. The upsurge in courier services means that currency can be delivered without violating the old basic caution against sending cash by mail. One advantage of Web sites with conversion rates highly visible is that one can comparison-shop. The Oanda-Thomas Cook Web program, FXDelivery, is available at the moment only in the United States and only with a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. Tracy Hammock, a vice president at Thomas Cook, said that the money is sent in denominations small enough for cabdrivers to make change.