A new fintech business which I was introduced to previously this year. What Do I Need To Get A Currensea Card…
It has won a couple of awards over recent months for what it does (offering you a low-cost method to spend abroad) however what I like about is that it is simple as hell. This is a good thing.
is, efficiently, a direct debit travel card. You simply invest as you would on a normal debit card and the cash is taken from your existing account– just without the typical 3% charge.
Oh, and is free to make an application for, which also helps.
There are also some interesting travel advantages if you select a paid strategy, however the free strategy works fine. You can apply here.
There is a service model in fintech which Curve, Revolut, Monzo and so on have all followed:
launch by doing something well, and free of charge or cheaper than the competition
add a growing number of features which your existing customers do not actually require or want
include charges, charges or restrictions to the function that made individuals get your item in the first place, removing any competitive advantage
is presently still in Phase 1 of this process and will hopefully stay there. Monzo, curve and revolut 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? What Do I Need To Get A Currensea Card
It is a free direct debit card to utilize abroad and which automatically recharges all purchases to your existing bank account in Sterling, less a small 0.5% cost.
That’s it.
You don’t (yet …) make any airline company miles or points for using it.
Why would I wish to get a card?
If you have a charge card offering 0% forex costs, then you do not require a card, unless you want free ATM withdrawals. You can stop checking out now.
Nevertheless, charge card which offer benefits and charge 0% FX fees are scarce. The only ‘miles and points’ choices which offer a partial service are the Virgin Atlantic charge card which have 0% FX charges in the Euro zone.
IS possibly 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 credit card particularly to utilize abroad
you want a product which permits you to make �,� 500 of foreign currency ATM withdrawals each month with no charges and only a minimal FX mark-up (there is a small cost beyond �,� 500).
you want a product for you, your adult children, parents, partner or anyone else in your life who needs a basic, easy to understand payment card that will conserve them money when travelling.
How does work in practice?
It is, as I stated earlier, a really 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, globally).
Your current account bank immediately validates that you have adequate cash in your account and authorises the deal.
The transaction goes through at either the interbank rate or the Mastercard rate, depending on 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 automatic invest notification by means of the app, if you pick 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 diary, I chose to sprinkle out and purchase 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 expensive.
A pet peeve of mine is when ATMs forewarn you about the daylight break-in that is almost to happen (typically in a various language) while not telling you about the expensive currency conversion costs happening in the background. Don’t get me started. Anyhow back to the positives for a bit anyway.
Luckily over the last few years a handful of excellent travel debit cards have actually popped onto the scene … and like other terrific cards guarantees huge cost savings (85%) and a great app.
However I believe the very best bit might be what no other card does: connects to your existing high street checking account.
What this means is you can spend money you have in your existing bank account with less worry about lacking cash and the extra step. But that does not mean it is perfect.
In this Currensea evaluation is the good, the bad, the awful and the options, 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 Vital Plan whilst staying more affordable than other prepaid cards and high-street debit cards. We also charge an FX markup on ATM usage over the totally free quantity on all our strategies, full details can be discovered on our rates plans.
Membership charges.
We charge a yearly membership cost of �,� 25 for our Premium Strategy, and �,� 120 for our Elite Strategy. The membership cost likewise removes all FX markup on deals.
Interchange.
Every time you spend with your card we get a little % of the deal, referred to as interchange, this comes directly from the merchant and won’t be charged to you. What Do I Need To Get A Currensea Card