A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Problems…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add increasingly more functions which your existing consumers don’t actually require or desire
include charges, limitations or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 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 Problems
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank 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 wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, 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, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated invest notification via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle 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 few days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. However that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Necessary Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Problems