A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can Currensea Be Used As A Credit Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-priced way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing consumers don’t truly require or desire
add charges, restrictions or fees to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve 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? Can Currensea Be Used As A Credit Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you pick 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 few days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is just about to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional action. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue from our Essential Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can Currensea Be Used As A Credit Card