A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Why Currensea Won’t Accept My Bank Card For Registration…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include a growing number of features which your existing consumers don’t really require or desire
add restrictions, charges or fees to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Why Currensea Won’t Accept My Bank Card For Registration
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, 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 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 regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest notice through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle 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:.
But converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea promises huge savings (85%) and a great app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra action. That does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make profits from our Vital Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Why Currensea Won’t Accept My Bank Card For Registration