A brand-new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Australia…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is an advantage.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits between you and your existing bank account. There is absolutely nothing to top-up or prepay. You merely invest as you would on a regular debit card and the cash is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is totally free to look for, which also helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the totally free plan works fine. You can use here.
There is a business model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
add a growing number of functions which your existing customers don’t actually require or want
include charges, constraints or costs to the feature that made people get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this procedure and will ideally stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut 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? Can I Use My Currensea Card In Australia
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly 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 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 want complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘points and miles’ options which provide a partial solution 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 credit card specifically to utilize abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no fees and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them cash when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a really easy 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 current account bank instantly validates that you have sufficient money in your account and authorises the transaction.
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 complimentary card. There are no fees if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification via the app, if you select to install it.
The cash is taken from your bank account a few days later.
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 shows �,� 4.33 set up to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime robbery that is almost to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily recently a handful of terrific travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees huge savings (85%) and an excellent app.
I believe the finest bit may be what no other card does: links to your existing high street bank account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing current account with less fret about lacking money and the extra action. But that does not suggest it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the excellent, 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 Plan of 0.5% per deal, permitting us to make earnings from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the complimentary quantity on all our plans, full details can be discovered on our prices strategies.
Membership fees.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The membership fee likewise gets rid of all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Whenever you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Can I Use My Currensea Card In Australia