A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. How To Use Currensea Without A Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to get, which also helps.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competition
include increasingly more features which your existing clients don’t really require or want
include costs, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? How To Use Currensea Without A Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee 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 travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really simple 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 current account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient 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% cost if you have the complimentary card. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert through the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash out and buy 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 couple of days later:.
However transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is just about to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant 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 great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea promises big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. But that does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. How To Use Currensea Without A Card