A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Disposable Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-priced method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose 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 for free or more affordable than the competition
include more and more features which your existing customers do not truly require or want
include charges, fees or restrictions to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Disposable Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not 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 an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really 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, globally).
Your current account bank instantly verifies that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend alert by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no 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 reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is just about to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, 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 small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make revenue from our Vital Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our prices plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Disposable Card