A brand-new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Vs Wise…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
add more and more features which your existing customers do not actually need or desire
include charges, constraints or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Vs Wise
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, 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 costs are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really easy 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 automatically verifies that you have enough cash 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% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated spend alert via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided 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:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the additional action. That does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue from our Necessary Plan 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 strategies, full information can be discovered on our prices plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Vs Wise