A new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Currensea Credit Card Or Debit Card…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is drawn from your current account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to obtain, which also helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of features which your existing customers don’t really desire or require
add fees, limitations or charges to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are currently 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 Credit Card Or Debit Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not require a card, unless you want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX fees and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely 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 money in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automatic 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 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:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to happen (often in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion costs occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of great travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards Currensea promises big savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the extra action. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the ugly 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 Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make revenue from our Necessary Plan whilst remaining much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free amount on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our pricing plans.
Membership costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the deal, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Credit Card Or Debit Card