A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Card Requirements…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (offering you an affordable way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic 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 merely spend as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is totally free to obtain, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or less expensive than the competitors
include more and more functions which your existing clients don’t really require or want
add costs, limitations or charges to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Card Requirements
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% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide rewards and charge 0% FX charges are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little fee beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely simple procedure. You utilize 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 validates that you have enough cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no fees if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle out and buy 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:.
But transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises huge savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this indicates is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking money and the additional action. However that does not imply it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the great, 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 nominal FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make profits from our Necessary Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our plans, full information can be discovered on our prices plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Currensea Card Requirements