A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. How Much Can You Have On A Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend 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. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or cheaper than the competition
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not actually need or desire
include fees, limitations or charges to the function that made people get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are already in Phase 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? How Much Can You Have On A Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn 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 do not need a card, unless you want totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank immediately confirms that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% cost. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend alert through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is just about to take place (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately recently a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards promises huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I believe 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 bank account with less fret about lacking money and the extra step. However that does not imply it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, permitting us to make income from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our strategies, complete information can be found on our prices plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. How Much Can You Have On A Currensea Card