A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Avantaje Card Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not actually require or want
add charges, constraints or fees to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? Avantaje Card Currensea
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 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 costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far 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 potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have enough money 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. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic spend notification through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later on.
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 shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I think the 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 bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional step. However that does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Essential 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 free quantity on all our plans, full details can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Avantaje Card Currensea