A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Pending Card Authorization Request Currensea…
It has actually won a few awards over recent months for what it does (providing you an affordable way to invest abroad) however 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 in between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is drawn from your current account– simply without the normal 3% charge.
Oh, and is totally free to get, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid plan, but the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or more affordable than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing clients do not really want or need
add limitations, fees or charges to the function that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process 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? Pending Card Authorization Request Currensea
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX costs are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want a product which allows 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 an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, an extremely easy procedure. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, internationally).
Your current account bank instantly confirms that you have enough money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no costs.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and buy 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully over the last few years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards assures huge savings (85%) and a great app.
I believe the finest bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this means is you can invest cash you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the extra action. That does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the great, the bad, the awful and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Important Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Important Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary amount on all our strategies, full details can be found on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription cost likewise eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Pending Card Authorization Request Currensea