A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Using Currensea Card Abroad…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-priced method to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing current account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is drawn from your bank account– simply without the usual 3% charge.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel advantages if you pick a paid strategy, however the complimentary plan works fine. You can apply here.
There is an organization model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and for free or more affordable than the competitors
add increasingly more features which your existing clients don’t actually need or want
include costs, charges or constraints to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is easy 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? Using Currensea Card Abroad
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which offer benefits and charge 0% FX charges are couple of and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ options which provide a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX fees in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX costs and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to use abroad
you desire an item which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any costs and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, an extremely basic procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, worldwide).
Your current account bank immediately validates that you have enough money in your account and authorises the deal.
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% charge. There are no charges if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice by means of the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I decided to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which reveals �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
But transforming pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is almost to occur (frequently in a different language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion charges occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
In recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards Currensea promises big cost 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 worry about lacking cash and the additional action. But that does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful 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 Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make profits from our Important Plan whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the free amount on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we get a small % of the transaction, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Using Currensea Card Abroad