A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Whats A Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t actually desire or require
include charges, costs or limitations to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut 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? Whats A Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
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% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no fees and just 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 anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional 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 on the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated spend notice through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals , 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to take place (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But 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 spend money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the extra action. That does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the unsightly 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 Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable 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, full details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual subscription fee of , 25 for our Premium Strategy, and , 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Whats A Currensea Card