A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Can You Do Direct Debit With Currensea Business Debit Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-priced method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t actually need or want
add restrictions, charges or fees to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy 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? Can You Do Direct Debit With Currensea Business Debit Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone 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 said earlier, a really easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your bank account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient 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% fee if you have the totally free card. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend alert 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. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking cash and the additional step. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can You Do Direct Debit With Currensea Business Debit Card