A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can I Withdraw Money From Atm Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to look for, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model 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 don’t actually desire or need
include charges, restrictions or fees to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Withdraw Money From Atm Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond , 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said 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 bank account bank immediately confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle 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 couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is practically to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards promises big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional step. 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 choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, full information can be found on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of , 25 for our Premium Strategy, and , 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can I Withdraw Money From Atm Currensea Card