A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can A 16 Year Old Have A Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an affordable method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing clients do not really need or desire
include restrictions, fees or charges to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can A 16 Year Old Have A Currensea 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 …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are rare. 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 possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, an extremely easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly validates that you have sufficient money 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% cost if you have the totally free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated spend notification through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about running out of cash and the extra step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, 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 small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make income from our Vital Plan 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 complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can A 16 Year Old Have A Currensea Card