A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Lebanon…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which also assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competitors
include increasingly more features which your existing consumers don’t really want or require
add charges, fees or constraints to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Use My Currensea Card In Lebanon
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely simple 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 bank account bank automatically verifies that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
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 shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily in recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit may 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 current account with less worry about lacking money and the extra step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Lebanon