A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Currensea Twitter…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or cheaper than the competitors
include a growing number of functions which your existing clients do not actually require or desire
include charges, constraints or costs to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy 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 Twitter
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to affect 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 monthly without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really easy process. You use 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 transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, adds a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic invest alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
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 take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. 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 terrific cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the extra action. But that does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, 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 small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make revenue from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining 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, complete details can be found on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Twitter