A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Funding…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing consumers do not truly require or want
add restrictions, 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 hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Funding
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish 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 totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs 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 an easy, 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 simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank automatically validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction 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% cost. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice via the app, if you choose to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash 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 on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over running out of money and the additional step. That does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Funding