A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Colors…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
include increasingly more features which your existing consumers don’t truly require or want
include charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Colors
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees 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 monthly with no charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very easy procedure. You utilize 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 immediately validates that you have enough money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the complimentary card, adds a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated invest alert by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash out and purchase 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:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards assures huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the extra step. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan 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 use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise 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 Colors