A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. How Does Currensea Work…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing consumers don’t actually desire or require
add charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? How Does Currensea Work
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really basic 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 current account bank immediately confirms that you have enough cash 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 free card, includes a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notification through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
However transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking cash and the extra step. That does not mean it is best.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make income from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our prices strategies.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. How Does Currensea Work