A new fintech business which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Card Opiniones…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you an affordable method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to look for, which also assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
include increasingly more functions which your existing customers do not actually want or need
include limitations, charges or charges 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 ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are already in Phase 3 …
is simple 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 Card Opiniones
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ choices which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make , 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond , 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely 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 bank account bank automatically confirms 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 on the currency. If you have the totally free card, includes a 0.5% cost. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is just about to happen (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea promises huge savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
I believe the best bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the extra step. But that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make income from our Vital Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our rates plans.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of , 25 for our Premium Plan, and , 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a small % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Currensea Card Opiniones