A new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Multi Currency Card Currensea…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to invest 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 just spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of functions which your existing consumers don’t truly require or want
add restrictions, charges or fees to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Multi Currency Card Currensea
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn 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 charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs 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 previously, a very simple process. You utilize 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 instantly validates that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction 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 notification via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
However transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. But that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Multi Currency Card Currensea