A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can U Use Currensea Card In Uk…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
add increasingly more functions which your existing consumers don’t actually require or want
add charges, costs or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can U Use Currensea Card In Uk
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives 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 do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only 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 anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really basic process. 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 current account bank immediately confirms 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 upon the currency. If you have the free card, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the extra step. That does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
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, permitting us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our plans, complete details can be found on our rates plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Can U Use Currensea Card In Uk