A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Lost My Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not truly need or desire
include restrictions, costs or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Lost My Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make 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% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically 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 very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone 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 said earlier, a really easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately verifies that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is practically to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards promises big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about running out of cash and the additional action. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, 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 Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Lost My Currensea Card