A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Is Currensea Best Prepaid Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your current account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing consumers do not truly desire or require
include charges, restrictions or charges to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea Best Prepaid Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make 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% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank automatically validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the totally free card, includes a 0.5% cost. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a great app.
I think 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 bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional action. But that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make revenue from our Essential Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Is Currensea Best Prepaid Card