A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card For Travel…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing customers do not truly want or need
include restrictions, charges or costs to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently 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? Currensea Card For Travel
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really basic 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 immediately verifies 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. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notice through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later on.
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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the extra action. But that does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the unsightly 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 Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue 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 usage over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card For Travel