A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Freeze Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable way to invest 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. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or more affordable than the competition
include more and more functions which your existing customers don’t actually need or want
include restrictions, fees or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Freeze Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which permits 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 small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very basic process. 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 automatically validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, adds a 0.5% cost. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and purchase 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 few days later:.
However transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional step. But that does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Essential 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 details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Freeze Currensea Card