A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Can You Withdraw Cash With Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, 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 simply invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing consumers do not really desire or need
include restrictions, charges or fees to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can You Withdraw Cash With Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly 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 little charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really easy procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated invest alert by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose 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:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra step. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make income from our Necessary Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Can You Withdraw Cash With Currensea Card