The Royal Mint’s Raris payment card is made from 18-karat gold.
The Royal Mint
Britain’s Royal Mint has produced a solid gold payment card — and you’ll need to fork out £18,750 ($23,460) to buy one.
The government-owned company, responsible for minting coins for the U.K., said it partnered up with Mastercard and payments technology firm Accomplish Financial to make the card.
Buyers of the luxury product will get access to a premium account called Raris, which offers zero foreign exchange and transaction fees and additional Mastercard benefits including a dedicated concierge services.
A handful of tech companies have been rolling out premium metal cards to their customers of late. Fintech start-ups N26 and Revolut for instance both sell debit cards made out of stainless steel, while Apple earlier this year launched a titanium credit card.
Made from 18-karat gold, Royal Mint’s card goes a step further. It’s targeted at people “who value high quality luxury items that make a statement,” according to the firm.
Looking ahead, the Royal Mint is looking to launch its first product listed on a stock exchange, a gold-backed exchange-traded commodity (ETC), by early 2020. The ETC would be listed on the U.K., Italian and German stock markets.
“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,” Anne Jessopp, CEO of the Royal Mint, said in a statement Friday.
“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.”