A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Get Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which also assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
add more and more features which your existing customers do not really desire or need
add charges, costs or restrictions to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Get Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges 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 using 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 want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees 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 impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very easy procedure. 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 bank account bank instantly confirms that you have enough money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal 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% charge. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, 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 almost to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea assures huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe 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 stress over lacking money and the extra step. However that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full information can be found on our rates plans.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Get Card