A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Card Plastic Vs Metal…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive method to invest 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 current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the usual 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some fascinating travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include a growing number of features which your existing customers don’t really desire or require
include constraints, charges 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 ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Plastic Vs Metal
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial solution 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 impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any charges and only 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 requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a really basic procedure. 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 current account bank immediately verifies 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. includes a 0.5% cost if you have the complimentary card. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic spend notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later.
Here is an example. With no 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to occur (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Fortunately in recent years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards assures huge savings (85%) and a great app.
But I think the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. But that does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make income from our Essential Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Plastic Vs Metal