A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card America…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic 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 absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing consumers don’t really require or desire
include charges, constraints or fees 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 process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card America
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you do not require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
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 on:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t 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.
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 invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking cash and the extra step. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue from our Important Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card America