A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Card Code…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing customers don’t truly desire or need
include fees, restrictions or charges to the function that made individuals 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. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Code
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
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 desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which allows 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 want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very 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 bank account bank automatically validates that you have sufficient 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 complimentary card, adds a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic spend notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Necessary Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our prices plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Code