A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Countries…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which likewise assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not actually want or require
add constraints, fees or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic 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 Countries
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want 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 fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely easy process. 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 confirms that you have adequate 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 costs.
You get an automatic spend notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of 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 shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of money and the additional action. However that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal 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 prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Countries