A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Can Currensea Be Used In Place Of A Credit Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple 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 absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, however the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing clients don’t actually want or need
include limitations, charges or costs to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can Currensea Be Used In Place Of A Credit Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer rewards and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work 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 local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically verifies 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. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 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:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. However that does not indicate 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 transaction, permitting us to make profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our prices plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can Currensea Be Used In Place Of A Credit Card