A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Phone Number…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a normal debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– just without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to look for, which also helps.
There are also some fascinating travel benefits if you select a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing clients don’t truly need or desire
include charges, fees or constraints to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is basic 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 Phone Number
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial service 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 affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very simple procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have sufficient money 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% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend notice through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is practically to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea 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 means is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of cash and the additional step. However that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
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, permitting us to make income from our Necessary Plan 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 complimentary quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription costs.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Phone Number