A brand-new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Share Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is easy as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, 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 simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the cash is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which likewise assists.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competition
include more and more features which your existing consumers don’t really want or require
include charges, costs or restrictions to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Monzo, revolut and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is basic enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Share Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex fees, then you do not need a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX costs are few and far between. The only ‘points and miles’ options which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you want an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a simple, easy to understand payment card that will save them cash when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really easy 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 instantly confirms that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the free card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no fees.
You get an automatic invest notification through the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. With no 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 reveals �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
However converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to take place (often in a different 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 anyway.
Luckily in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I think the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. That does not indicate it is best.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium plans have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly subscription charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription cost likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we get a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and will not be credited you. Share Currensea Card