A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. Is Currensea A Credit Card…
It has won a few awards over recent months for what it does (using you a low-cost way to spend abroad) but what I like about is that it is basic as hell. This is a good thing.
is, effectively, a direct debit travel card. It is a Mastercard which sits in between you and your existing bank account. There is nothing to top-up or prepay. You simply spend as you would on a regular debit card and the money is drawn from your bank account– simply without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which also assists.
There are also some interesting travel benefits if you select a paid plan, but the complimentary strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo etc have actually all followed:
launch by doing one thing well, and totally free or more affordable than the competition
add more and more functions which your existing consumers don’t really need or want
include limitations, costs or charges to the function that made individuals get your product in the first place, eliminating any competitive advantage
is currently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Revolut, curve and monzo are already in Stage 3 …
is easy enough that it passes my ‘Can you discuss it to your mate in the club in 30 seconds?’ test:
What countries can I use Currensea? Is Currensea A Credit Card
It is a free direct debit card to use abroad and which immediately 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 wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not need a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop reading now.
However, credit cards which offer rewards and charge 0% FX charges are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ alternatives which provide a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX costs in the Euro zone.
IS perhaps for you if:
you don’t have a charge card offering 0% FX charges and do not wish to impact your credit report by getting another credit card particularly to use abroad
you desire a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals monthly with no charges and only a very little FX mark-up (there is a small fee beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult kids, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who requires a simple, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when taking a trip.
How does operate in practice?
It is, as I stated previously, a really 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 adequate cash in your account and authorises the transaction.
The deal goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending upon the currency. includes a 0.5% fee if you have the complimentary card. There are no costs if you have one of their paid cards.
You get an automatic invest notification through the app, if you select to install it.
The money is taken from your current account a few days later.
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 shows �,� 4.33 arranged to leave my HSBC account a couple of days later on:.
Converting pounds was expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight burglary that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the outrageous currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Thankfully in recent years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have popped onto the scene … and like other excellent cards assures big cost savings (85%) and a fantastic app.
However I believe the best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this suggests is you can invest cash you have in your existing bank account with less worry about running out of cash and the extra step. That does not mean it is ideal.
In this Currensea review is the great, the bad, the unsightly and the alternatives, so that you can decide.
FX markup.
While our premium strategies have no FX markup, we charge a nominal FX markup on our Vital Strategy of 0.5% per deal, enabling us to make income from our Necessary Strategy whilst staying much cheaper than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We likewise charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be found on our prices plans.
Membership costs.
We charge a yearly membership fee of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The subscription charge also removes all FX markup on transactions.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the transaction, referred to as interchange, this comes straight from the merchant and will not be charged to you. Is Currensea A Credit Card