A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Is Currensea Card Free…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing clients don’t truly desire or need
include charges, constraints or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea Card Free
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody 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 previously, a really simple 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 current account bank instantly validates that you have sufficient money 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 complimentary card, adds a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend alert through the app, if you choose 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 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is just about to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional action. But that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Essential 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 complimentary quantity on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Is Currensea Card Free