A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Credit Card Statement Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits 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 drawn from your bank account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing clients do not actually need or want
include costs, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Credit Card Statement Currensea
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial option 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 charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank automatically validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
But converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is just about to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway 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 terrific cards assures big 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 means is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. That does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst remaining much cheaper 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 plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices plans.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Credit Card Statement Currensea