A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Starling Card Vs Currensea…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to spend 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 bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
add a growing number of functions which your existing customers do not actually require or desire
include charges, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Starling Card Vs Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, 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 travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms 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 on the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest alert by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken 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 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 couple of days later:.
But transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is just about to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards promises big savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the finest bit might 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 cash and the extra action. That does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make profits from our Vital Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Starling Card Vs Currensea