A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in 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 money is taken from your bank account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers do not actually need or desire
include fees, charges or restrictions to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is basic 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? Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card
It is a complimentary 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 …) make any airline 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 require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use 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 charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which allows 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 fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately confirms 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 upon the currency. adds 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 notification through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 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:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to take place (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the additional action. But that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card