A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use Currensea Card In Mexico…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– simply without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more features which your existing clients don’t actually need or desire
add charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Use Currensea Card In Mexico
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges 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 wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond , 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really simple procedure. 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 bank account bank immediately confirms that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% cost. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is just about to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional action. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make revenue from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of , 25 for our Premium Plan, and , 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Can I Use Currensea Card In Mexico