A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Pay Card…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more features which your existing consumers don’t truly want or require
add charges, restrictions or charges to the feature 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 ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is basic 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 Pay Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. 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 potentially 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 charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire 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 conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely simple process. 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 enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the free card, adds a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards Currensea guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the best bit may 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 bank account with less worry about running out of money and the extra step. But that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our strategies, full information can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Pay Card