A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Premium Card Vs Standard…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to request, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competition
include a growing number of functions which your existing clients don’t really need or want
include charges, constraints or fees to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is basic 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 Premium Card Vs Standard
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn 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 do not need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ 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 do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, 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, worldwide).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have adequate 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. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic spend alert by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and buy 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:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. However that does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Vital Plan whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Premium Card Vs Standard