A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Colours…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which also assists.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competition
add more and more features which your existing clients don’t really need or want
add fees, constraints or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Colours
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. 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 potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really basic procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically validates 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 upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, adds a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose 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 couple of days later on:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is just about to take place (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea assures big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money 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 excellent, the bad, the unsightly 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 Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make income from our Vital Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our plans, full information can be found on our rates strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Colours