A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Gold Card Benefits…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing clients don’t actually desire or need
add constraints, charges or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is simple 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 Gold Card Benefits
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank immediately 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 free card, adds a 0.5% cost. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea assures huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the extra action. But that does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable 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 plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Gold Card Benefits