A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use Currensea Card In Vietnam…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, 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 just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competitors
add increasingly more functions which your existing customers don’t truly want or need
include limitations, charges or fees to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy 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 I Use Currensea Card In Vietnam
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple procedure. 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 bank account bank automatically validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the totally free card, includes a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notification by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to happen (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking cash and the extra action. But that does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Vital Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid 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 found on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Can I Use Currensea Card In Vietnam