A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Using Credit Card To Top Up Currensea…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost 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 between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise assists.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add more and more features which your existing clients do not truly require or desire
add charges, constraints or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? Using Credit Card To Top Up Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 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 don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, 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, globally).
Your bank account bank instantly confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% charge. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notification via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle 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 few days later on:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea assures huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking cash and the additional step. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review 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 Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Using Credit Card To Top Up Currensea