A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Card Sign In…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost 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. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers don’t actually want or require
include charges, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Sign In
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make 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 don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated 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 adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the very best bit might 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 worry about lacking money and the additional step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make profits 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 complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Card Sign In