A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card Romania…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to request, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
add increasingly more functions which your existing clients do not truly want or require
add charges, restrictions or fees to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? Currensea Card Romania
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
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 fees, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely easy procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank automatically confirms 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 upon the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notice through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But 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 fret about lacking money and the extra step. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Romania