A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Is Currensea Free…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-priced method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, but the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competition
include more and more features which your existing consumers don’t actually require or desire
add constraints, fees or charges 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 process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea Free
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notice through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises huge 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 means is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking cash and the extra step. But that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Is Currensea Free