A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. Ordering A Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is a good idea.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the typical 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you choose a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or less expensive than the competitors
add more and more functions which your existing consumers don’t truly need or want
include fees, charges or restrictions to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple 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? Ordering A Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company 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 do not need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX costs are couple of and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps 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 credit card specifically to use abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely simple procedure. 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 verifies that you have adequate money in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest alert through the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 scheduled to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is practically to take place (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In recent years a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards Currensea guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
However I think the best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street savings account.
What this indicates is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of money and the extra step. However that does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the unsightly 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 Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make revenue from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying more affordable than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost also gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Ordering A Currensea Card