A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card In Singapore Atm Fees…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design 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
include more and more features which your existing consumers don’t really require or want
add charges, charges or constraints to the function that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is simple 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 In Singapore Atm Fees
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple process. You use 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 instantly confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, adds a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend alert via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle 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:.
But transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional action. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make income from our Important Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card In Singapore Atm Fees