A brand-new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Add Money Credit Card Fees…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to get, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing consumers don’t really desire or need
include limitations, charges or fees to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Add Money Credit Card Fees
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline 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 do not require a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really easy procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly verifies that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notification via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle 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 on:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea guarantees huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking cash and the additional action. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our prices plans.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Add Money Credit Card Fees