John Lewis axes bureaux de change and gift-wrap desks
Wednesday 8th July, 2026
John Lewis plans to close foreign exchange counters in 30 stores and specialist gift‑wrapping desks in 25, putting about 200 jobs at risk as customers shift to online and card payments in the UK.
This gives Wise a chance to comment on consumers switching from in‑store cash exchange to digital, and to highlight low‑cost, convenient online currency services in the UK.
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Why have we flagged this?
John Lewis is closing in-store foreign exchange counters as customers shift to digital payments and online currency — Wise can comment on rising digital FX use and offer customer data on cross-border payment trends.
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Thinking...
Data idea
The five destinations Brits now go cashless
Reveal where UK travellers make the highest share of card taps versus cash withdrawals.
Data to investigate: Analyse your UK customers’ overseas transactions to rank destinations by the percentage of contactless or card payments out of total transactions.
Why: Naming cashless hotspots gives an easy travel peg for lifestyle and money desks to run.
Data idea
One in X holiday pounds lost to airport rates
Quantify how much more airport bureaux charge compared with digital card rates on the same day.
Data to investigate: Pull a sample of your GBP-to-euro and GBP-to-dollar card exchange rates and compare, on matched timestamps, to publicly posted airport bureau board rates you can scrape in one day.
Why: A clear money-loss number makes a punchy consumer warning and explains why bureaux are closing.
Data idea
Sterling in suitcases is fading fast
Show the drop in Brits buying cash before trips as more spend digitally abroad.
Data to investigate: Analyse your UK customer transaction data to find the yearly change in the share of overseas spend done by card versus ATM cash withdrawals.
Why: A single stat proving cash’s decline abroad backs up John Lewis’s move and taps a national shift.