Hilton has launched two different debit card products in the UK (Hilton). Card owners can collect loyalty points with all eligible purchases, and when they reach a certain level, they can redeem them for free stays or other benefits. The cards are available in two tiers and cost either £60 or £150 per year.
There are two things that stand out in this offering. Firstly, the cards are detached debit cards. This means a customer only signs up for a card but not for a separate bank account or wallet. During the registration process, the card owner needs to connect her existing bank account (i.e., HSBC, Monzo). Whenever the card owner makes a purchase with the Hilton card, the funds are taken from that bank account via direct debit. A few brands in Europe are using this card product, and it is advantageous when the brand believes it cannot fully persuade its customers to leave their current bank.
Secondly, the Hilton card product is built in cooperation with Currensea and not with a banking-as-a-service provider, which is a surprise to me. Currensea is a British consumer fintech startup that offers a product similar to the Hilton Card directly to consumers. We don’t know why Hilton opted for Currensea instead of a banking infrastructure provider. Currensea is not an unknown player in the market but clearly does not have that big of a brand that this was interest for Hilton, which would be different if Hilton was partnering with Wise or Revolut for example. Perhaps the product that Currensea has built around the detached debit card is exactly what Hilton was looking for and they wanted to avoid building most of this themselves, which would have been necessary when partnering with a banking-as-a-service provider.
That being said, I am still surprised that Hilton chose Currensea. Definitely big kudos to the Currensea team, but if any subscriber has more insights or thoughts on this decision, please let me know :-)
