A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Order Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t truly want or require
include limitations, charges or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Order Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges 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 utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly 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 credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification through the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no 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 shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea promises big cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I believe the very 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 stress over lacking money and the extra step. That does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, 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 small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Order Currensea Card