A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card Feed…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to spend abroad) however 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 between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which also assists.
There are also some fascinating 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 all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include increasingly more features which your existing customers do not really desire or require
include costs, charges or restrictions to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Feed
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using 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 want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately verifies 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 on the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic spend notice by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle 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 few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is just about to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the additional action. However that does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, 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 Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Feed