A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Probleme Card Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which also helps.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t really require or desire
include charges, limitations or fees to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already 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? Probleme Card Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect 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 each month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs 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, an extremely simple procedure. 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 current account bank automatically confirms that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and buy 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 few days later on:.
But transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, full information can be found on our prices strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest 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. Probleme Card Currensea