Royal Trinity Hospice Partners with Fintech Currensea to Release Branded Debit Card Allowing Supporters to Donate Easier

  • Open Banking
  • 27.07.2022 12:15 pm

Currensea, the fintech provider of open banking-powered travel debit cards, has announced the latest partnership in its ‘powered by’ service. Through the partnership, Royal Trinity Hospice, the oldest hospice in the UK and a charity that cares for 2,500 patients each year, is offering a branded card to supporters enabling them to make charitable donations at home and abroad.

Customers can now donate to Royal Trinity Hospice when spending whether in the UK or in other countries. Donations can be made by rounding up spending to the nearest 5p in the UK or from savings made on overseas transactions via this new branded card.

Currensea uses open banking to connect directly to someone’s bank account with their approval, allowing travellers to make overseas transactions directly from funds in their current account, whilst saving at least 85% on foreign exchange fees by removing the normal fees leveraged by banks and other card providers – customers can then opt to donate all or part of these savings to charity.

‘Powered-by’ is a first-of-its-kind concept, launched in 2021, which allows charities to issue branded cards to their supporters so they can round up UK spending or convert savings made on overseas spending into charity donations. For example, a user spending $1500 while visiting the USA can choose to contribute 50% of their savings – over £20 – while still saving money by avoiding high foreign exchange fees.

The average charitable donation per card is £30. Royal Trinity Hospice hopes that at least 1,800 people will choose to take advantage of the card offers, which will cover the costs of a specialist community nurse with expertise in palliative care for a whole year.

All of the donations made using the new Royal Trinity Hospice card will support their Community Palliative Care team, which provides specialist information and care to manage patients’ pain and often clinically complex and rapidly changing needs and symptoms. The multi-disciplinary team also provides specialist services including welfare advice, counselling, spiritual care, physio and occupational therapies to patients living in their own homes, care homes and homeless hostels. In 2021, the Community Palliative Care team provided care to nearly 1,800 patients in central and southwest London.

Other ‘powered by’ partnerships include St Martin-in-the-Fields Trust, which works with many of London’s most vulnerable communities, and Rafiki Thabo Foundation, a charity which boosts access to education across Africa.

James Lynn, Co-Founder of Currensea, comments: “Royal Trinity Hospice is a great cause and we’re proud to help boost support for the fantastic work it does. Our latest partnership offers a unique option for people looking for more control over their money and an opportunity to give back to their community.

“This is a perfect example of how charities can leverage embedded finance to boost donations and engage more directly with supporters – allowing them to benefit from a fintech approach without the high costs of employing in-house expertise.

“Users can now support Royal Trinity Hospice when using the Currensea card at home and abroad. 5p round-ups per transaction may sound like a small contribution, but it can make a huge difference if all the hospice’s supporters take part. Similarly, the Currensea card allows customers to avoid the high foreign exchange fees they typically face when spending abroad, but they can also now support charitable causes instantly and automatically by donating part of or all these savings directly.”

Currensea partnered with Global Processing Services (GPS) prior to launch to bring its innovative card to market, it is now bringing that same technology to the charity sector.

Joanne Dewar, Vice Chair at Global Processing Services (GPS), said: “Fintechs increasingly play a vital role in accelerating urgently needed innovation in the areas of financial empowerment and fintech for good, with Currensea leading the way in the UK through pioneering a diversifying range of socially conscious payments solutions.

“The next leg of the ‘powered by’ initiative is another significant milestone as, once again, we have broken new ground through our partnership by providing the first ever healthcare charity with its own branded cards. Together, GPS and Currensea are making it even easier for supporters to make charitable donations by taking advantage of no bank fees and exemplary foreign exchange rates through next-generation payments.

“The future of our partnership is very exciting. We look forward to supporting even more purposeful initiatives that align so closely with our core values as a business and are a prime example of the incredible innovation taking place within the fintech industry that directly benefits individuals, charities, and wider society.”

Emily Carter, Chief Executive at Royal Trinity Hospice said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Currensea on the Royal Trinity Hospice card. The stylish new card is a simple way for people across our central and southwest London community and beyond to support a vital local charity whilst also benefiting from savings on spending abroad - just in time for their summer holidays!”

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