A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Card ŒµŒªŒªŒ±Œ¥Œ±…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more features which your existing customers do not actually need or want
add costs, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already 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 ελλαδα
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically 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 miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees 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 charge card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, parents, 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 work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the transaction.
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 free card. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notification via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of money and the additional step. However that does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full information can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card ελλαδα