A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Is A Currensea Card A Debit Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-priced way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, 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 spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is drawn from your current account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which also assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing consumers do not truly desire or need
add restrictions, charges or costs to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, monzo and revolut are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is A Currensea Card A Debit Card
It is a complimentary 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 company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial service 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 charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, an extremely easy process. You utilize 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 validates that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automated spend notice by means of the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. That does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make earnings from our Essential Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our prices plans.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Is A Currensea Card A Debit Card