A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Apply For Currensea Card Uk…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more features which your existing consumers do not truly desire or need
add charges, charges or limitations to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Apply For Currensea Card Uk
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
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% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have adequate 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. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice through the app, if you select 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 splash out and purchase 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 few days later on:.
However transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the extra step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Essential Plan whilst staying 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, full details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Apply For Currensea Card Uk