A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Is Currensea Prepaid Card…
It has won a few 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, effectively, 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 invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which also assists.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing clients do not really desire or need
add limitations, charges or costs to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy 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 Prepaid Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little 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 conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely easy procedure. 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 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 upon the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
But 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 (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this means is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking cash and the additional step. That does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make revenue from our Essential 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 amount on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Is Currensea Prepaid Card