A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Can You Add Another Name To Your Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, 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 merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing clients do not actually want or require
include charges, constraints or charges to the function 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 remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can You Add Another Name To Your Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish 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 free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide 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 credit card offering 0% FX costs 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 each month with no costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank instantly validates 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 upon the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash 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 on:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily recently a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards promises huge 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 indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the additional step. But that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Essential Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can You Add Another Name To Your Currensea Card