A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. What Airport Lounges Are Supported By The Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced 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. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to obtain, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing consumers don’t really desire or require
include charges, restrictions or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will ideally remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already in Phase 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? What Airport Lounges Are Supported By The Currensea Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish 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.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notification through the app, if you pick to install it.
The money is drawn from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I decided to splash out and purchase 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:.
Converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of money and the additional action. However that does not suggest it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make profits from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our prices plans.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership charge also gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. What Airport Lounges Are Supported By The Currensea Card