A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Can I Switch Currensea To Another Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to look for, which also helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary strategy 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 competitors
add increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not truly desire or require
add charges, restrictions or costs to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Switch Currensea To Another Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 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 costs, then you do not need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs 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 particularly to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have adequate 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% charge if you have the free card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notification 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. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards Currensea assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. But that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make income from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Can I Switch Currensea To Another Card