A new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Card Uk…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to get, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing consumers don’t really want or require
add charges, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Uk
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs 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 affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really simple 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 automatically verifies that you have enough money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the free card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice through the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any 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 shows �,� 4.33 arranged 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 almost to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of money and the additional step. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make revenue from our Necessary Plan whilst staying 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, complete details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Card Uk