A new fintech company which I was presented to earlier this year. Do I Need A Physical Currensea Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-priced way to invest abroad) but what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. You just spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is taken from your current account– simply without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to request, which also helps.
There are also some intriguing travel advantages if you select a paid plan, however the complimentary strategy works fine. You can use here.
There is a company model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add a growing number of functions which your existing consumers do not actually need or want
include fees, restrictions or charges 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 ideally remain there. Revolut, monzo and curve are currently in Phase 3 …
is easy 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? Do I Need A Physical Currensea Card
It is a complimentary direct debit card to use abroad and which instantly recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish 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 totally free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, credit cards which use rewards and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘points and miles’ alternatives which use a partial solution are the Virgin Atlantic charge card 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 wish to affect your credit report by getting another charge card particularly to utilize abroad
you desire an item which enables you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals per month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a little charge beyond �,� 500).
you desire a product for you, your adult kids, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said earlier, a very easy process. You use your Currensea card in the same way as your existing debit card.
You make your purchase in local currency (any currency, globally).
Your bank account bank immediately validates that you have adequate 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 free card, adds a 0.5% charge. There are no costs if you have among their paid cards.
You get an automated invest notice via the app, if you pick to install it.
The cash is taken from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. Without any foreign travel in the diary, I chose to sprinkle out and purchase 1,000 MeliaRewards points for EUR5.
This is what you see in the Currensea app, which shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later:.
But converting pounds was pricey.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daytime burglary that is almost to occur (often in a various language) while not telling you about the exorbitant currency conversion fees occurring in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyway back to the positives for a bit anyhow.
Thankfully recently a handful of fantastic travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards promises huge cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
But I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street savings account.
What this suggests is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less stress over lacking cash and the extra step. That does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea evaluation is the excellent, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can choose.
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 profits from our Important Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the free quantity on all our strategies, full information can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership fees.
We charge an annual subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Whenever you invest with your card we receive a little % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be credited you. Do I Need A Physical Currensea Card