A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card Use Abroad…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you an inexpensive method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, 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 just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to request, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the complimentary plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
include increasingly more functions which your existing clients do not truly desire or need
add charges, constraints 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 Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple 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? Currensea Card Use Abroad
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very simple 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 automatically confirms that you have enough cash 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 complimentary card, adds a 0.5% charge. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend notice through the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 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:.
But transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea assures huge savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional action. That does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly 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 Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make earnings from our Vital Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Use Abroad