A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. How To I Add Euros To My Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competition
include a growing number of features which your existing customers do not really desire or require
include constraints, charges or costs to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? How To I Add Euros To My Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card 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 want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really easy procedure. You use 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 verifies that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle 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 expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards assures huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit may 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 lacking cash and the additional step. That does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable 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 details can be found on our pricing strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. How To I Add Euros To My Currensea Card