A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card Sdmn…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
include more and more functions which your existing consumers do not actually require or desire
include fees, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Sdmn
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in 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 do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money 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 regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank instantly confirms 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 upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated spend alert by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 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:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. 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 fantastic cards promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional step. But that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly 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 transaction, permitting us to make income from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable 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, complete details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Card Sdmn