A new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Paying In Euros…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, 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– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to look for, which also assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing clients do not actually want or need
include restrictions, charges or fees to the function that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is simple 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 Paying In Euros
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial option 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 costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely 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 bank account bank instantly validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest alert through 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. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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 couple of days later:.
But transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully in recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures big savings (85%) and a great app.
I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional action. However that does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Necessary Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Paying In Euros