A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Chile…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing clients do not really desire or require
add restrictions, charges or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Chile
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just a very little 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 save them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very simple process. You utilize 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 verifies that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
However transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures huge savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of cash and the additional action. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Essential Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Chile