A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Plastic Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to invest 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. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing customers don’t really need or desire
include costs, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy 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 Plastic Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire 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 save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely basic 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 immediately validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra step. However that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make revenue from our Vital Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Plastic Card