A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Unfreeze Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which also assists.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing consumers do not truly require or want
include charges, costs or restrictions to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is easy 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? Unfreeze Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically 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 company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely easy procedure. 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 automatically confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose 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 on:.
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 different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the additional step. However that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, 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 transaction, enabling us to make earnings from our Necessary Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Unfreeze Currensea Card