A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Order Currensea Card Free…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually 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 actually require or want
include charges, restrictions or costs to the function that made people get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Order Currensea Card Free
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly 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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically verifies that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest notice through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the additional action. However that does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid 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 information can be found on our rates plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Order Currensea Card Free