A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. How To Get Currensea Visa Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple 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 current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, but the complimentary 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 one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competition
include increasingly more functions which your existing consumers do not truly need or desire
add charges, charges or limitations to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic 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 To Get Currensea Visa Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not 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 an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely basic process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank immediately verifies that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
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% charge. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend notification by means of 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 journal, I decided to splash 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:.
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 (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking cash and the additional action. But that does not suggest 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 strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make income from our Essential Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary amount on all our plans, full information can be found on our pricing strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. How To Get Currensea Visa Card