A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Card Apply Online…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent 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 an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competition
include more and more features which your existing customers do not really require or want
add charges, constraints or charges 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 process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Apply Online
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which provide rewards and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, 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 said earlier, a very 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, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the best bit may 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 stress over lacking cash and the extra action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make revenue from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our plans, complete information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost also gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Apply Online