A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Application…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-priced method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to look for, which also helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not truly desire or need
add fees, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic 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 Card Application
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately 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 utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank automatically confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, adds a 0.5% fee. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this indicates is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the additional action. However that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our prices plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Application