Sometimes the most successful banking product launches arise from one single pain point that leaves you wondering: why didn’t somebody else think of that?
And such is the case with Currensea. In 2017, two ex-investment bankers were fed up with excessive charges from their banks after family summer holidays. They’d tried pre-pay cards and secondary bank accounts. But that meant the faff of endless topping up and remembering separate balances. It also meant the embarrassment of inevitable card declines.
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They both knew there had to be a better way. So, James Lynn and Craig Goulding, Currensea co-founders, developed a multi-currency debit card that connects straight to an existing bank account but eliminates the banks’ charges abroad.
Lynn tells RBI: “Currensea is all about simplicity when you when you travel. It just removes all the hassle when you’re spending. The challenge, when you travel generally, is that bank fees are pretty high. We’d tried prepay and secondary bank accounts. But that always comes with that hassle factor of having to top something up, keep track of balance, keep moving money around.
“It’s a little bit painful. I’ve had experience of this where I’d been paying for paying for a dinner and have my card decline just because I’d forgotten how much money was on there. And this happened repeatedly with hotels, and it’s embarrassing. I thought there had to be a better way of doing this. So, we came up with the idea of a debit card that connects directly to an existing bank account and removes bank fees. It is really, really simple, because there’s no more topping up, no more prepaying, just a really simple debit card that works with your Barclays or Lloyds or HSBC bank account and just removes those bank fees.”
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By GlobalDataCurrensea: £5m saved in user FX fees since launch
Lynn estimates that UK travellers are forking out an unnecessary £2.7bn in foreign exchange (FX) fees every year. As well as Currensea removing the fees levied by high street banks on overseas transactions, it offers cardholders much lower rates.
Lynn says that Currensea has saved travellers over £5m in FX fees since launch, including over £2.5m during 2024.
During the summer peak, the Currensea card was used every three seconds globally and attracted over 35,000 new cardholders.
Lynn says that the success of Currensea’s crowdfund in June 2024 demonstrates the appetite for a simple money-saving travel solution that cuts FX fees.
Successful 2024 crowdfund
Currensea met its initial fundraising target of £1m within just four hours, ultimately raising over £3.3 million
Currensea’s card uses open banking technology, linking directly to existing bank accounts. This enables users to spend directly from their current account when abroad, without the hassle of opening a new bank account or topping up accounts.
Other 2024 highlights included the September launch of the world’s first hotel debit card in partnership with Hilton. This card enables loyalty programme members to spend directly from their current account, earning Hilton Honors Points. At the same time, it removes the FX fees typically charged by banks and other card providers.
Looking ahead, Lynn has big plans for 2025.
“It is going to be a very exciting year when it comes to growth, both on our brand and co-brands and for our existing customers. In terms of debit cards, the forecasts are all that debit will just continue to grow, and in percentage terms, take more and more market share. The size of the potential market is huge. Open banking makes it just really, really easy for people to sign up.”
