Currensea debit card - worth having for overseas travel ?

NoodleDoodleMan

It gets flagged up in the recommended category on travel cards on MSE.

Anybody got one ?

I have a Starling Bank debit card which is the absolute top pick - but wondered if this was a good standby option ?

landsberger64

I've had one for a couple of years and it's worked fine. You get a slightly worse rate (0.5% less, I think) than the wholesale rate you will get with Starling - probably only relevant if you're spending large amounts of money. 

What I like about it is that you are charged by direct debit from your chosen bank account a couple of days after the transaction, so you don't need to remember to charge up your Starling card (and indeed have a couple of days to fund your current account). You can have more than one current account behind the Currensea card. I've just come back from Germany, and it worked perfectly all the time I was there. I had problems signing into the iPhone app as I have a fairly old iPhone, and they were very quick to respond and resolve the issue. 

Using it in the UK is strongly discouraged. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Thanks for that.

NoodleDoodleMan

Just an afterthought.

How long does it take for Currensea to advise the customer of the amount in Sterling that is going to be taken by Direct Debit - and how many days after the ATM transaction is the DD taken from your linked bank account ?

NoodleDoodleMan

I've now managed to open a Currensea account - having learnt that a debit transaction abroad won't go ahead unless there are sufficient funds in the linked UK bank account - so the question about how long it takes for the direct debit to be actioned is a moot point.

I suspect it would be wish to link a secondary bank account as backup - assuming it'll be a straightforward exercise to switch online using the app on iPhone or iPad ?

landsberger64

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Just an afterthought.

How long does it take for Currensea to advise the customer of the amount in Sterling that is going to be taken by Direct Debit - and how many days after the ATM transaction is the DD taken from your linked bank account ?

They seemingly check if you have enough credit at the time of the transaction, but don't get charged for a day or two afterwards. 

NoodleDoodleMan said:

I suspect it would be wish to link a secondary bank account as backup - assuming it'll be a straightforward exercise to switch online using the app on iPhone or iPad ?

My experience is that

a) you can have 2 accounts "behind" the account (I have my personal account, and my joint account)
b) there is a delay of a few days to swap between the two - I assume as a fraud prevention measure

Quite happy with it, apart from that. 

NoodleDoodleMan

Thanks, that's helpful.