Fintech
Fintech Travel Card Breaks Crowdfunding Goal in Just Four Hours
The company has raised £1.7m from 760 investors on the Seedrs platform.
London fintech Currensea has smashed its online crowdfunding target after just four hours, as the travel debit card company looks to capitalize on a revival in demand for overseas holidays.
The company has raised £1.7 million from 760 investors on the Seedrs platform, exceeding its initial goal of £1m with a business valuation of £28.5m.
Currensea said it had extended its target to allow for additional investment for a limited period of time, adding that it would use the money to support future customer acquisition and the continued development of its co-branded offering.
Since launching in 2020, Currensea has raised a total of £11 million, including a £4.5 million round in 2022 involving crowdfunding from Seedrs and investments from Blackfinch Ventures and 1818 Venture Capital.
The start-up claims to have saved travellers more than £4 million in currency exchange fees with a card that lets you save at least 85 percent on transactions abroad eliminating the normal commissions applied by traditional banks.
James Lynn, co-founder of Currensea, commented: “Achieving our initial target in record time not only demonstrates phenomenal demand, but also strong investor confidence in the scalability of our solution.
“Too many people feel ripped off by FX commissions when our new investors abroad have joined our mission to create a fairer model for travel money.”
Latest data from the banking trade association UK Finance shows that UK international debit card spending rose 4% in March compared to the previous year.
Currensea said it surpassed 100,000 cardholders earlier this year and that monthly card usage has doubled since last year.