A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Standard Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing clients do not truly desire or need
include 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 Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy 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 Standard Card
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 small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, 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 simple process. 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 instantly validates 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 on the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% fee. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle 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 on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of cash and the extra step. However that does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Essential Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Standard Card