A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Referral…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model 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
include a growing number of functions which your existing customers do not actually want or need
add charges, constraints or charges to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Referral
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 little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline 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 require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very easy procedure. 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 automatically verifies that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current 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 reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is just about to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a great app.
But I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links 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 running out of cash and the additional step. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, 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 small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Referral