A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Why Won’t My Currensea Card Work Online…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing consumers do not truly desire or require
include restrictions, charges or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple 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? Why Won’t My Currensea Card Work Online
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially 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 credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money 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, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately confirms that you have enough money 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% fee if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated invest notification through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and buy 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 on:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the extra action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make profits from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual 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 transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Why Won’t My Currensea Card Work Online