A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Apply Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also assists.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers don’t truly want or require
add charges, limitations or costs to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Apply Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra step. That does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Apply Currensea Card