A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Elite Currensea Review…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you an affordable method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
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 just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is drawn from your current account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing consumers don’t truly want or need
include charges, limitations or charges to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Elite Currensea Review
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 small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps 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 particularly to use abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have adequate cash 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% fee if you have the totally free card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. That does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Elite Currensea Review