A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Verification…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add increasingly more features which your existing clients do not actually want or require
add charges, costs or restrictions to the feature that made individuals 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 stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Verification
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% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said 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, internationally).
Your bank account bank instantly verifies that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
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 totally free card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to occur (often 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 anyhow.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra step. But that does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation 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 Plan of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Verification