A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Review 2018…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing 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, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing clients don’t truly need or desire
add charges, costs or limitations to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Review 2018
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just 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 a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really 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 bank account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient 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% charge. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle 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 few days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is practically to happen (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the additional step. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Review 2018