A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Bank Card Fees…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which also helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing customers don’t truly want or require
include restrictions, fees or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Bank Card Fees
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which offer 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 charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately confirms that you have enough cash 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, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and a great app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of cash and the additional step. That does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Bank Card Fees