Working in association with Mastercard and Accomplish Financial, The Royal Mint has today announced production of the world’s first hallmarked precious metals payment card. The solid gold payment card is designed for individuals who wish to access the exclusive benefits of a Raris account and for those who value high quality luxury items that make a statement.

The prestigious 18kt gold Raris card is personalised for each Raris accountholder, with their name and signature directly engraved into the precious metal.

The Raris account benefits from limitless spending, zero foreign exchange or transaction fees. The Raris app will also enable customers to manage their account and more. As part of the Mastercard World Elite package, additional benefits include a dedicated concierge service and other travel benefits.

This launch represents the first payment card to be manufactured by The Royal Mint. In addition to being world’s first precious metal payment card to be hallmarked by the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office, Raris is also the first payment card in the world to use source-traceable metals and to be certified under the Responsible Jewellery Council’s Chain of Custody.

Mark Barnett, divisional president, UK, Ireland, Nordics and Baltics at Mastercard said: “This is a really exciting project, combining the outstanding heritage of The Royal Mint – 1,100 years of engineering and artistic expertise – and Mastercard’s focus on payment innovation and security, together with our worldwide acceptance network. Accomplish Financial ensures that the Raris card provides the perfect link between that heritage and the digital world.”

Simon Bradley, Head of Partnerships at Accomplish Financial said: “We are delighted to enhance our Raris account offering with The Royal Mint’s first precious metal payment card. Raris leverages our technical capabilities to offer an account designed for the world’s most discerning clients with an emphasis on functionality and security. We are honoured to have brought together The Royal Mint and Mastercard, marrying 1,100 years of payments heritage with the payments technology of tomorrow.”

Anne Jessopp, CEO at The Royal Mint said: “The Royal Mint is constantly innovating, and as the UK’s leading precious metals solutions provider, we are hugely excited to launch the solid gold Raris card in acknowledgement of growing consumer demands for unique and luxury payments cards. In association with Mastercard and Accomplish Financial, Raris – the first payment card manufactured by The Royal Mint – is a combination over a 1,100 years of Royal Mint craftsmanship with tomorrow’s payment technology.”