A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Number…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– just without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization 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 more and more functions which your existing consumers do not truly need or desire
include fees, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple 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? Currensea Card Number
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically 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 wish 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 complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which offer a partial option 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 costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely basic process. 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 bank account bank automatically verifies that you have enough money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic spend notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any 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 shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
However transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional step. However that does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make profits from our Important Strategy whilst remaining 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 strategies, complete details can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Number