A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Seedrs Currensea…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, 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 normal debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing customers do not truly desire or need
add charges, costs or restrictions to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is basic 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? Seedrs Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you do not require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little charge 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 save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated 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, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to happen (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily recently a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra action. However that does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make revenue from our Vital Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, full details can be found on our rates strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Seedrs Currensea