A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Create Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing customers don’t really want or require
add limitations, charges or charges to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Create Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make 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 do not need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire 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 small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, 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 work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very simple procedure. 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 bank account bank immediately verifies that you have adequate money 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 free card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards promises big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the finest bit might 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 worry about running out of cash and the additional action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the awful 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 Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Important Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, complete details can be found on our prices plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Create Currensea Card