A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Barclays…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your present account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to make an application for, which also assists.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a business design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competition
include more and more features which your existing consumers do not truly require or desire
add charges, limitations or costs to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Barclays
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
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 reading now.
However, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly 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 utilize abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult kids, 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 work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very basic process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
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. adds a 0.5% cost if you have the totally free card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this indicates is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional action. That does not indicate it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly 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 Important Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Essential Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid 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 found on our rates strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Barclays