UK’s first direct debit travel card raises £6.5m following latest crowdfunding round

Fintech Currensea has surpassed its crowdfunding target in under two hours after launching on the Seedrs platform.

London based Currensea is a money-saving travel card linked to existing current accounts, and has already raised £1.35m from over 350 investors; 135 per cent of its initial target.

Due to high demand, Currensea has reappraised its crowdfunding target and is currently continuing to accept investment from UK investors for a short time on the Seedrs platform. Currently, almost 50 per cent of initial investors via Seedrs are already Currensea users demonstrating “strong customer advocacy” of the card.

This crowdfunding campaign comes as the travel industry is returning to pre-pandemic normality with two years of pent up demand driving spikes in overseas travel.

However, the cost of living crisis means that UK travellers need to ensure that their spending stretches further and Currensea aims to put an end to travellers facing high foreign exchange fees from banks when spending abroad.

Currensea calculates UK travellers are currently spending £2.7bn in foreign exchange fees every year from using their bank cards abroad. In total, the UK’s international card spend sits at £79bn annually according to UK Finance.

Currensea allows card users to save at least 85 per cent on every transaction abroad by removing the normal fees leveraged by banks and other card providers. For example, a user spending $1,500 in the US would save £40 using Currensea instead of their bank card.

Currensea has enjoyed rapid growth this year with cardholder numbers growing by over 100 per cent in 2022 and over 45,000 sign-ups. This latest fundraising takes the total amount raised to £6.5m since launch.

The amount raised through this crowdfunding round will support additional senior hiring and drive increased customer acquisitions to meet the fintech’s aim of acquiring 300,000 users in the next two years.

James Lynn, co-founder of Currensea, commented: “There has been phenomenal demand amongst investors, clearly demonstrating the scalability and need for a viable solution to the foreign exchange trap that we’ve all been forced to endure for too long.

“The fact that so many of our customers have now decided to become shareholders via Seedrs indicates how strong the proposition is – they love the simplicity of our money-saving solution and want to contribute to a fairer travel money market.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →