A brand-new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Buy Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing customers do not really want or require
include charges, fees or limitations to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 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? Buy Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option 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 charges and do not wish to affect 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 charges and just 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 anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very easy procedure. You use 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 automatically validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic spend alert 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 splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to happen (often in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the additional action. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Buy Currensea Card