A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Can I Use Currensea Without Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an affordable method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or more affordable than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing clients don’t truly want or require
include charges, limitations or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently in Phase 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 I Use Currensea Without Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially 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 charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money 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, internationally).
Your current account bank automatically verifies that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
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 automated spend notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is just about to occur (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees 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 implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking money and the extra step. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Necessary Strategy 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 use over the free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership fee likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Can I Use Currensea Without Card