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Coutts Launches Multi-Currency Debit Card With Zero Fees

Josh O'Neill Reporter 13 December 2016

Coutts Launches Multi-Currency Debit Card With Zero Fees

The RBS-owned firm's latest offering caters to its increasingly-transient client base.

Coutts, the UK private bank, has launched a multi-currency debit card in a bid to better serve its transient client base.

In what the bank believes to be a world first, its latest offering enables all of Coutts' 76,000 clients to link their existing debit card to a maximum of 19 different currency accounts. As a result, when a client is travelling overseas, they can use a single debit card and the funds will automatically be debited from the relevant linked currency account, Coutts said in a statement. Additionally, no conversion charges will apply and the debit card will perform just as a locally-issued bank card would.

The Royal Bank of Scotland-owned firm decided to launch the card following feedback from clients after they were asked what they were looking for in a private bank. Coutts' clients lead increasingly international lifestyles and often have second homes, with the bank's ultra-high net worth clients travelling as much as 24 times a year. Some of these clients were accumulating fees that could run into the thousands.

“We worked closely with Visa to deliver this new product and we continue to invest in digital products and services that reflect the complex and international lifestyles nature of our clients,” said Stuart Newey, head of UK banking, adding: “This is another example of us gearing our services based on what our clients say they want. We launched this last week and already more than 1,000 clients have signed up and we will be looking to expand the range of currencies available over the coming months.” 

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