A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card How To Transfer Money Back…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to get, which also assists.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing clients do not truly desire or require
include charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy 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 How To Transfer Money Back
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company 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 desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables 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 cost 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 conserve them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal 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% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notice 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 journal, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards Currensea guarantees huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the best 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 current account with less stress over lacking cash and the additional step. However that does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our prices plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee also 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 directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Card How To Transfer Money Back