A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to previously this year. Can You Make A Profit On Currensea Card…
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 basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
include more and more features which your existing clients don’t truly require or want
add limitations, charges or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can You Make A Profit On Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact 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 per month with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really 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 bank account bank automatically verifies that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
But converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional step. That does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make earnings from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full information can be found on our pricing plans.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can You Make A Profit On Currensea Card