A brand-new fintech company which I was introduced to earlier this year. Can I Use Currensea Without Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (using you an inexpensive way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple 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 regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– just without the typical 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to apply for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some intriguing travel benefits if you pick a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a service design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competitors
include more and more features which your existing customers don’t truly need or desire
add constraints, charges or charges to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you describe it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Can I Use Currensea Without Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which immediately charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% charge.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not require a card, unless you desire totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX charges are few and far in between. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX fees and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another credit card specifically to use abroad
you want a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month with no costs and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a small charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a very basic process. 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 bank account bank automatically confirms that you have sufficient cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on the currency. includes a 0.5% charge if you have the totally free card. There are no charges if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your bank account a couple of days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the journal, I chose to splash out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
However converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime break-in that is practically to occur (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion fees taking place in the background. Do not get me started. 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 excellent cards Currensea assures huge cost savings (85%) and an excellent app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: links to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can spend cash you have in your existing current account with less worry about lacking money and the additional step. But that does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can choose.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a small FX markup on our Vital Plan of 0.5% per transaction, allowing us to make earnings from our Important Plan whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM use over the complimentary quantity on all our strategies, complete details can be found on our pricing plans.
Subscription costs.
We charge an annual membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription charge likewise eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time 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. Can I Use Currensea Without Card