A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. What Currensea Card Review…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-priced way to spend abroad) however 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 merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your current account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to request, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing customers do not really want or require
include charges, charges or constraints to the feature that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? What Currensea Card Review
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
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 charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really simple procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank automatically verifies that you have sufficient money 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 complimentary card, adds a 0.5% charge. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the journal, 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:.
Transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to take place (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra action. That does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the ugly 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, enabling us to make profits 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 use over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. What Currensea Card Review