A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Master Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which also assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing customers do not really desire or require
add restrictions, charges or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple 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 Master Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you desire 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 ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately verifies that you have adequate money 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% cost if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated spend alert via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the extra step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make profits from our Necessary 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 totally free quantity on all our plans, full details can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Master Card