A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Do I Need To Exchange My Money On Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-priced method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing customers do not actually need or want
include costs, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Do I Need To Exchange My Money On Currensea Card
It is a complimentary 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 …) make 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 don’t require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notification by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any 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 reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
However transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the additional action. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review 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 Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our plans, complete information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Do I Need To Exchange My Money On Currensea Card