A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Foreign Currency Card Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple 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 absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers do not truly require or want
include charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Foreign Currency Card Currensea
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (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% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really easy procedure. You utilize 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 instantly verifies that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash 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 break-in that is almost to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional action. But that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Necessary Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Foreign Currency Card Currensea