A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Visa Card Currensea…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more features which your existing clients don’t actually desire or require
include charges, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product 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, monzo and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Visa Card Currensea
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize 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 fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ choices 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 don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately verifies that you have sufficient 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 free card, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and a great 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 spend cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra action. That does not suggest 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 small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make profits from our Vital 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, full information can be found on our prices plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Visa Card Currensea