A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Poland…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced 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 in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you select a paid plan, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers do not really require or want
add costs, charges or limitations to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve 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 Use My Currensea Card In Poland
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really basic process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank instantly 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. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% charge. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 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 few days later:.
But transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea assures big savings (85%) and a great app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the additional step. That does not imply 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 Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Poland