A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Currensea Exchange Rates…
It has won a couple of awards over current months for what it does (using you a low-priced way to invest abroad) however what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You merely spend as you would on a normal debit card and the money is taken from your present account– just without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is free to get, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid strategy, but the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and for free or less expensive than the competition
add increasingly more features which your existing consumers don’t truly want or need
add fees, charges or constraints to the feature that made individuals get your item in the first place, getting rid of any competitive advantage
is presently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the pub in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Exchange Rates
It is a complimentary direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% foreign exchange charges, then you don’t require a card, unless you desire complimentary ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far between. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which offer a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS potentially 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 specifically to use abroad
you want a product which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and just a very little FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you want an item 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 work in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really easy procedure. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your current 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 upon the currency. If you have the totally free card, adds a 0.5% fee. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest notification 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 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
Converting pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight robbery that is almost to happen (typically in a different language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion charges taking place in the background. Do not get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily in the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards promises huge cost savings (85%) and a terrific app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this implies is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less fret about lacking money and the extra action. However that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the ugly and the options, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Important Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make earnings from our Essential 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 amount on all our plans, complete details can be discovered on our rates strategies.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership charge of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Each time you invest with your card we get a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be credited you. Currensea Exchange Rates