A new fintech company which I was introduced to previously this year. How To Order A New Currensea Card…
It has actually won a few awards over current months for what it does (offering you a low-cost 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 simply spend as you would on a typical debit card and the money is taken from your existing account– just without the normal 3% cost.
Oh, and is complimentary to make an application for, which likewise helps.
There are likewise some interesting travel benefits if you pick a paid plan, but the totally free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a company design in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing something well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add more and more features which your existing clients do not actually desire or require
include charges, charges or limitations to the function that made people get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is currently still in Stage 1 of this process and will hopefully remain there. Revolut, curve and monzo are currently in Stage 3 …
is easy 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? How To Order A New Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which automatically charges all purchases to your existing current account in Sterling, less a little 0.5% fee.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) earn any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I want to get a card?
If you have a credit card offering 0% forex costs, then you don’t require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
However, charge card which use benefits and charge 0% FX fees are rare. The only ‘miles and points’ options which use a partial option are the Virgin Atlantic credit cards which have 0% FX costs 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 affect your credit report by getting another charge card specifically to utilize abroad
you desire a product which allows you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month without any charges and just a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you desire an item for you, your adult children, moms and dads, partner or anybody else in your life who requires a basic, easy to understand payment card that will save them money when taking a trip.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I said previously, 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, internationally).
Your bank account bank instantly confirms 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. adds a 0.5% charge if you have the complimentary card. If you have one of their paid cards, there are no charges.
You get an automated invest alert via the app, if you choose to install it.
The cash is drawn from your current account a few days later on.
Here is an example. With no foreign travel in the diary, 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 arranged to leave my HSBC account a few days later on:.
Transforming pounds was costly.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is just about to take place (often in a different language) while not telling you about the inflated currency conversion charges happening in the background. Do not get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
In current years a handful of great travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other fantastic cards Currensea guarantees big savings (85%) and a terrific app.
I think the best bit may be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street bank account.
What this implies is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking money and the additional action. That does not indicate it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the ugly 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 Essential Plan of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Vital Strategy whilst remaining much cheaper than other pre-paid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM use over the totally free quantity on all our plans, complete information can be discovered on our pricing strategies.
Subscription charges.
We charge a yearly subscription cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Plan. The subscription fee also eliminates all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we receive a small % of the transaction, called interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and won’t be credited you. How To Order A New Currensea Card