A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
include more and more features which your existing customers don’t really require or want
add charges, fees or restrictions to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really simple procedure. You utilize 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 instantly confirms that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction 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% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken 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 purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 scheduled 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 daylight burglary that is just about to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the additional action. That does not suggest it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
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, permitting us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Is Currensea A Prepaid Debit Card