A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Turnover…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the usual 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing clients do not actually need or desire
include charges, constraints or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is basic 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? Currensea Turnover
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 small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody 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 process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately 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, adds a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest alert via the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash 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 on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately recently a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards promises big savings (85%) and a great app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less fret about running out of money and the extra action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Turnover