A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Why Was My Currensea Card Declined…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, 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 simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing clients don’t actually want or need
include constraints, costs or charges to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Why Was My Currensea Card Declined
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank automatically confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the totally free card, includes a 0.5% charge. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises big cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional action. But that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Necessary Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Why Was My Currensea Card Declined