A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. How Much Can I Put On A Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you an affordable 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. You simply invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing customers don’t really need or desire
include fees, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? How Much Can I Put On A Currensea Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current 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 wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want 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 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 conserve them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very 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, worldwide).
Your bank account bank automatically validates that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic spend alert through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily recently a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra step. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation 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, enabling us to make profits from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. How Much Can I Put On A Currensea Card