A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Credit Card Top Up Fee…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way 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. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which also helps.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing consumers do not really require or want
add restrictions, costs or charges to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Credit Card Top Up Fee
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, 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, an extremely simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. 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 cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged 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 daylight burglary that is almost to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and a fantastic 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 spend money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional action. However that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make earnings from our Vital Strategy 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 totally free amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Credit Card Top Up Fee