A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Do I Sign My Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to apply for, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing customers do not really want or need
include charges, fees or limitations to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Do I Sign My Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
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% forex charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate 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, globally).
Your bank account bank instantly validates that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert by means of 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. Without any foreign travel in the diary, 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:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over running out of cash and the additional action. That does not imply it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
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 profits from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining 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 found on our rates strategies.
Subscription fees.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Do I Sign My Currensea Card