A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. When The Incoming Transfer Will Show On My Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to invest 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 merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to look for, which likewise helps.
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 an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competition
include more and more functions which your existing clients do not really require or desire
include restrictions, charges or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? When The Incoming Transfer Will Show On My Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly validates 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 on the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic invest notice through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 arranged 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 daytime break-in that is practically to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards promises huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of money and the additional action. That does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, 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 nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling 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 amount on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. When The Incoming Transfer Will Show On My Currensea Card