A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. How Currensea Works…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost way to invest 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. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which also helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel advantages if you pick a paid plan, but the complimentary strategy 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 for free or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t really need or want
add charges, limitations or fees to the function that made people get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? How Currensea Works
It is a complimentary 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 do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire an item 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 little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically validates that you have enough 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 totally free card, includes a 0.5% fee. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notice by means of the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking money and the additional action. That does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make revenue from our Necessary 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 quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our prices plans.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. How Currensea Works