A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Vs Curve Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of functions which your existing clients don’t actually desire or require
include costs, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Vs Curve Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps 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 credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product 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 taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, 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, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately validates that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
But transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea guarantees huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking cash and the additional step. However that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Vs Curve Card