A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Get A Currensea Card For My Daughter…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing clients don’t actually require or desire
include limitations, charges or costs to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already 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? Can I Get A Currensea Card For My Daughter
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (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 charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond , 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely 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 verifies 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. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current 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 shows , 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (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. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea guarantees huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I believe the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make earnings from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete information can be found on our rates strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of , 25 for our Premium Strategy, and , 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Can I Get A Currensea Card For My Daughter