A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Top Up Currensea With Binance Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
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 normal debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
include more and more functions which your existing customers do not actually require or desire
add charges, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Top Up Currensea With Binance Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current 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 fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial solution 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 costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very 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, internationally).
Your bank account bank automatically confirms that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is practically to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea promises huge savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. However that does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make revenue from our Essential Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary quantity on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Top Up Currensea With Binance Card