A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Cash Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple 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 bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing customers do not truly want or need
include charges, restrictions or fees to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Cash Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial solution 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 charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely basic 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 immediately validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose 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 few days later:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the extra step. But that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Essential Plan whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete information can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Cash Card