A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Is Currensea Card Good…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add more and more features which your existing consumers do not actually require or desire
add charges, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is basic 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? Is Currensea Card Good
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (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 checking out now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which offer 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 charges and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately verifies that you have enough cash 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% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notification through the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to sprinkle out and buy 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:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is practically to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards assures big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this means is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the extra action. That does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small 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 usage over the free quantity on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Is Currensea Card Good