A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. How To Use Currensea Without A Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
include more and more functions which your existing customers do not truly want or require
add costs, restrictions or charges to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? How To Use Currensea Without A Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody 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 stated previously, a very easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notification through the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
However transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the extra step. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly 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 Necessary Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make earnings from our Vital Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our prices plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. How To Use Currensea Without A Card