A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Incarcare Card Currensea…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
add increasingly more functions which your existing customers don’t actually require or desire
add charges, charges or constraints to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple 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? Incarcare Card Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple process. 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 bank account bank immediately verifies that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about running out of cash and the additional step. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, 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 Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Necessary Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Incarcare Card Currensea