A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Metal Card Cashback…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
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 simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers don’t truly require or desire
add fees, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy 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? Currensea Metal Card Cashback
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (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% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately verifies 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. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated invest notification via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (often in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea assures huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the additional action. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the awful 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 Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time 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 charged to you. Currensea Metal Card Cashback