A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can Pay Non Sterling Into Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing customers don’t really desire or need
include constraints, costs or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can Pay Non Sterling Into Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very 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, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction 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. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, 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:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the extra action. However 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 decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Can Pay Non Sterling Into Currensea Card