A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Disposable Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to spend 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 between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
include a growing number of features which your existing customers do not truly need or desire
add charges, limitations or fees to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Disposable Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees 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 credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly validates 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. If you have the free card, adds a 0.5% fee. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle 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:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to happen (often in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t 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 terrific cards promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra action. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Vital Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Disposable Currensea Card