A new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Credit Card Top Up Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which also helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers don’t really require or desire
add charges, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? Credit Card Top Up Currensea
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
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 credit card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank automatically confirms that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% cost. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 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 pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent 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 suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. However that does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue 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 use over the totally free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Credit Card Top Up Currensea