A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Where Accepts Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, however the free strategy 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 one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
include increasingly more features which your existing clients do not truly desire or need
add fees, limitations or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Where Accepts Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately 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 miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t 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 a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely simple procedure. You use 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 verifies that you have sufficient 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. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided 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:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the additional action. But that does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, 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 Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Important Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Where Accepts Currensea Card