A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Second Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you select a paid plan, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t really need or desire
add restrictions, charges or costs to the function that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Second Currensea Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
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% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does operate 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 regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank instantly verifies that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 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:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the best 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 stress over running out of money and the extra step. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Second Currensea Card