A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Declined…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to invest 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 just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing customers don’t actually need or desire
add charges, charges or constraints to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Declined
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide 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 charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, 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 automatically verifies that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea assures huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. But that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make income from our Vital Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, full information can be found on our rates plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Declined