Currensea听has launched an open banking debit card which enables small businesses to听make international transactions through their existing bank account without charges.听
The London FinTech,听which featured third on our听100 FinTech Disrupters听ranking,听says its听new debit Mastercard, which costs either 拢5 a month or 拢50 for 12 months,听is听competitive with leading challenger banks.听
The average bank charge for an international transaction, such as paying a Zoom bill, is听3.25%.听Currensea鈥檚听0%听charge means the rate reflects the best exchange rate available at that moment.听
It also avoids听the听admin and due diligence required when creating and managing multiple business accounts听while offering听16 interbank currencies, including the South African Rand and Thai Baht, which no other UK provider currently offers fee-free.听听
Its physical cards are developed by payment services provider听allpay听and includes a zero ATM withdrawal fee up to 拢500/month.听
Founded in 2018 by JPMorgan and Barclays alumni and launching in January of this year,听颁耻谤谤别苍蝉别补鈥檚听consumer card has been used in over 120 countries despite coronavirus limiting international travel.听听
The consumer card offers the same benefits as the SME service: frictionless, cheap transactions on imports and while travelling abroad.听
Since its founding it has also attracted some big names to its board, including the former UK CEO of Amazon UK, the former CIO of Worldpay and the co-founders of Booking.com.听
Currensea founders James Lynn, left, and Craig Goulding
鈥淔ollowing the success of our consumer launch, it was a no-brainer to offer the same service to SMEs,鈥� said co-founder听James Lynn.听
鈥�SMEs share many of the same consumer pain points, but in a way they鈥檙e even harder hit by the pain points associated with international spending because the process of setting up a bank account is even more complex and costly, especially as they grow and scale.听听
鈥�There鈥檚 a lot of due diligence and admin involved – something businesses can do without – and that鈥檚 what听Currensea听is here to remove, while also offering compelling rates in the process.鈥�听
Mastercard鈥檚 proposal is integrated across听颁耻谤谤别苍蝉别补鈥檚听B2C and B2B offerings, meaning payments via the听Currensea听debit card are covered by Mastercard鈥檚 chargeback protection and are accepted at millions of locations worldwide.听
Edoardo Volta, Head of听Fintechs听at Mastercard, commented:听鈥淲e鈥檝e been working closely with听Currensea听over recent听years, and听are committed to supporting them as they promote their consumer and business offerings to travellers and SMEs alike.听听
鈥�We鈥檙e incredibly excited about their potential and look forward to continuing to develop innovative solutions with them in the years to come.鈥�听
For more information on听Currensea, please visit听.听