A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use Currensea Card In India…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an inexpensive 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. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also assists.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or less expensive than the competitors
include a growing number of features which your existing clients don’t truly need or desire
add costs, restrictions or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are already 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? Can I Use Currensea Card In India
It is a totally free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
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 credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want an item which allows you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond , 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really easy 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 bank account bank immediately validates that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic spend alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
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 reveals , 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is just about to occur (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about running out of money and the extra step. However that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation 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 deal, allowing us to make profits from our Essential Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Subscription fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of , 25 for our Premium Strategy, and , 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership fee likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Can I Use Currensea Card In India