A new fintech business which I was introduced to earlier this year. Uk Currensea Card…
It has actually won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (providing you a low-priced way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
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 invest as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your bank account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to look for, which likewise helps.
There are also some fascinating travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is an organization design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add more and more features which your existing clients do not really desire or need
include charges, charges or limitations to the feature that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you explain it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Uk 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 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 charge card offering 0% foreign exchange fees, then you don’t need a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, charge card which offer rewards and charge 0% FX costs are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you want an item which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, an extremely easy process. 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 immediately validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. If you have the complimentary card, includes a 0.5% cost. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, I decided to splash 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 couple of days later on:.
But transforming pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is just about to happen (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other great cards Currensea promises big cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this implies is you can invest money you have in your existing current account with less stress over lacking money and the additional step. That does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Essential Strategy of 0.5% per deal, allowing us to make income 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 use over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, full information can be found on our pricing plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge likewise removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Uk Currensea Card