back Back

Knight Frank partners with Currensea to offer its employees debit cards for charity donations

By Joy Dumasia

July 06, 2022

  • Card Payments
  • Cards
  • Charity Donations
Share

Knight Frank, the property consultancy, is offering its 2,220 UK employees a company-branded, money-saving debit card which allows them to make charitable donations and reduce foreign exchange fees when spending abroad. The partnership with Currensea, which has created the open banking-enabled debit card linked to existing bank accounts, launches for use in the UK and abroad. 

The Knight Frank branded card has been made available to all UK employees as part of an updated benefits package, coinciding with the appointment of William Beardmore-Gray as new Chairman. 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. 

Currensea’s card allows users to access the best foreign exchange (FX) rates at only 0% to 0.5% above the FX base rate. High street banks typically charge 3-5% per transaction abroad, offering users savings of at least 85% on every overseas transaction as they avoid the normal fees charged by banks, and other card customers can then opt to donate all or part of these savings to charity. For example, a user spending $1500 while visiting the USA can choose to contribute 50% of their savings over £20 while still saving money on foreign exchange. 

Knight Frank employees will also be able to donate to charity by rounding up spending to the nearest 5p in the UK. All donations will go to Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity, with Gift Aid added. As the average charitable donation using the Currensea card is up to £30, total annual donations could exceed £66,000 if all Knight Frank’s UK employees opt for the card in their benefits package. 

This is Currensea’s first corporate partnership and the latest in Currensea’s unique ‘powered by’ programme, which allows businesses and charities to issue branded cards for users to round up UK spending and convert savings made on overseas spending into charity donations. Other partnerships include St Martin-in-the-Fields, a charity supporting the work of the iconic central London church, including helping women move away from homelessness. 

Will Beardmore-Gray, Senior Partner and Group Chair, Knight Frank, commented: “We are delighted to introduce Currensea at Knight Frank. The introduction of the scheme supports our ESG ambitions as we become the first corporate partner to offer the charitable giving feature allowing our people to donate some or all of their exchange rate savings to a great cause and one close to our hearts, Surfers Against Sewage.” 

James Lynn, Co-Founder of Currensea, said: “Knight Frank’s new employee benefits package is a great example of how organisations can introduce initiatives that encourage employees to support vital causes close to their hearts whilst also saving money themselves. A branded card also provides a unique marketing benefit for Knight Frank, showcasing the firm and employee engagement through spend.” 

“This is our first corporate partnership since the launch of ‘powered-by’, and we’re very excited to work alongside Knight Frank to create a staff benefit unique to the UK. As travel returns to pre-pandemic normality and millions across the UK plan their summer trips, Currensea users can avoid the high foreign exchange fees they typically face when spending abroad – opting to donate some or all of the savings they make to Surfers Against Sewage, a charity doing hugely important work that also echoes our beliefs around sustainability.” 

“Similarly, rounding up spending is a simple way of supporting the causes we all care about, with a small contribution making a huge difference when every employee’s donation is taken into account.” 

Previous Article

July 06, 2022

Funding Circle, DreamSpring partner to increase access to capital for small business owners

Read More
Next Article

July 06, 2022

Mambu enters into a strategic partnership with Visa

Read More









IBSi Daily News Analysis

Middle East, Egypt

January 16, 2024

Card Payments

Egypt among top remittance recipient countries in 2023: World Bank

Read More

IBSi FinTech Journal

  • Most trusted FinTech journal since 1991
  • Digital monthly issue
  • 60+ pages of research, analysis, interviews, opinions, and rankings
  • Global coverage
Subscribe Now

Other Related News

Today

Storfund & Mangopay to ease cash flow for marketplace sellers

Read More

Today

Revolut teams with Jabil to scale development of mobile payment solutions

Read More

Today

Worldline partners with Google to enhance cloud-based innovation

Read More

Related Reports

Sales League Table Report 2023
Know More
Global Digital Banking Vendor & Landscape Report Q4 2023
Know More
Wealth Management & Private Banking Systems Report Q4 2023
Know More
IBSi Spectrum Report: Supply Chain Finance Platforms Q4 2023
Know More
Treasury & Capital Markets Systems Report Q4 2023
Know More

IBSi Sales League Table

The industry acknowledged barometer of global banking technology vendor performance!
Get your copy now!
close-link
Get your copy now! IBSi Sales League Table 2023