A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Can I Use My Currensea Card In South Africa…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
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 spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to apply for, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel benefits if you select a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing clients do not actually desire or require
include costs, charges or restrictions to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Use My Currensea Card In South Africa
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a very simple process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, globally).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. If you have the complimentary card, adds a 0.5% cost. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest notification through the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any 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 reveals �,� 4.33 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is practically to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea guarantees big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra action. But that does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make revenue from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can I Use My Currensea Card In South Africa