A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Customer Service…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to request, which also assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add a growing number of functions which your existing clients do not really want or need
add charges, restrictions or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is easy 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? Currensea Card Customer Service
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (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% forex charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, 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 operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really basic process. You utilize 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 instantly verifies that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated invest notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea assures big cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I believe 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 current account with less stress over running out of cash and the extra action. However that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful 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 Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Customer Service