A new fintech business which I was presented to previously this year. Currensea Withdraw Cash Without Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you an affordable method to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good idea.
is, successfully, a direct debit travel card. You just invest as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– simply without the normal 3% fee.
Oh, and is complimentary to get, which likewise assists.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you choose a paid plan, however the totally free strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competitors
include a growing number of features which your existing clients don’t actually require or desire
add fees, charges or restrictions to the function that made people get your product in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this procedure and will hopefully stay there. Curve, Revolut and Monzo are already in Phase 3 …
is simple enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the bar in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Currensea Withdraw Cash Without Card
It is a totally free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You do not (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for utilizing it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex charges, then you do not need a card, unless you desire free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
Credit cards which provide benefits and charge 0% FX fees are few and far in between. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which provide a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly for you if:
you do not have a credit card offering 0% FX costs and do not want to affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to use abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly without any fees and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want an item for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anyone else in your life who needs an easy, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when travelling.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I said previously, a very easy process. You utilize your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in regional currency (any currency, internationally).
Your bank account bank immediately confirms that you have enough money 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, includes a 0.5% cost. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automated spend notice by means of 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. Without any foreign travel in the journal, 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 set up to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
But converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is practically to happen (frequently in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion fees happening in the background. Don’t get me began. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily recently a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees big savings (85%) and a great app.
However I think the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this means is you can spend cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the additional action. But that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea review is the good, the bad, the awful 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 Necessary Strategy of 0.5% per transaction, enabling us to make income from our Necessary Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our plans, complete details can be found on our rates strategies.
Membership charges.
We charge an annual membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Plan, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership charge also eliminates all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a little % of the deal, known as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. Currensea Withdraw Cash Without Card