A new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Travel Money Card…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (using you an inexpensive method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to look for, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply 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 more affordable than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing clients don’t actually require or want
add limitations, charges or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Travel Money Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
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 credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very 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, worldwide).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have sufficient 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. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily recently a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional action. But that does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be found on our rates plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Travel Money Card