A brand-new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Is Te Currensea Card Good For Traveling Vietnam 2019…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to spend 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 present account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing customers do not actually require or desire
add charges, limitations or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Te Currensea Card Good For Traveling Vietnam 2019
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
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% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps 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 specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very 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, internationally).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have sufficient 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. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the totally free card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and a great app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of money and the extra step. That does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst remaining 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 amount on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Is Te Currensea Card Good For Traveling Vietnam 2019