A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Cannot Add Card…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, 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– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing customers do not actually want or need
include charges, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Cannot Add Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to use 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 …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely simple procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient money 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% fee if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided 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 on:.
But converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional step. However that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, complete details can be found on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Cannot Add Card