A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Limited…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to look for, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the free strategy 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 something well, and for free or more affordable than the competition
include more and more features which your existing customers do not really desire or need
include charges, charges or restrictions to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain 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 pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Limited
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which offer a partial service 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 costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very simple 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 current account bank automatically confirms that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash 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 few days later on:.
But converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra step. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Vital Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Limited