If you’re reading this, you’re interested in finding a new card to use when travelling abroad. Specifically, a card that doesn’t charge you high, or even worse, hidden fees when spending on your trip.
So we’ve compared Curve’s Terms and Conditions for spending abroad with our own, to help you make the right decision.
What is Curve?
Curve is a UK fintech company that was founded in 2015. It enables you to hold, and switch spending between, multiple debit or credit cards via their single card.
What card options and plans does Curve offer?
Curve offers several options - Standard, X, Black, and Metal. For the purposes of this comparison, we’ll be focusing on their Standard card, which is free.
Card scheme vs interbank foreign exchange rates
The card scheme foreign exchange rate is set each day by major credit card networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
While the value of currencies fluctuates throughout the day, the card scheme rate stays the same for the whole day. The rate will contain a mark-up to protect the card schemes from fluctuation risks. It’s difficult to figure out exactly how this rate is calculated as the information isn't shared, but this is included in the rate that Curve uses.
The interbank rate, on the other hand, tracks the real-time value of currencies and is considered the fairest rate in the industry. It fluctuates throughout the day, and is the rate that Currensea uses, with an additional 0.5% markup.
So what does Curve charge you to spend abroad?
We don’t believe fees should ever be hidden - so we’ve done the calculations for you.
Using data from January to March 2023, we were able to calculate the average markup over the interbank rate applied to the card scheme rates. We did this by comparing those rates with the average highs and lows of the daily interbank rate, using a selection of the most popular travel currencies. On average, the markup built into the card scheme rate was 0.54% for Mastercard and 0.6% for Visa- since Curve uses Mastercard, this means that you're typically being charged 0.54% above the interbank rate when you use their card to spend abroad.
You’ll also need to watch how much you spend overall on your Curve card- they charge an additional rate of 2.5% when you spend over £250 in a rolling 30-day period. So, if you spend £3000 on holiday, you'll be hit with a £68.75 fee.
Finally, for currencies outside EUR and USD, Curve charge an extra 1% premium for spending on weekends (when most of us might splash out a little more or check out of a hotel). The fees quickly stack up!
What other fees does Curve charge?
Cash withdrawal
Curve charge a fee of 2% or £2 per withdrawal- whichever is highest, in addition to the other fees mentioned above. So ATM usage at the weekend for non-EUR/USD currencies after your £250 monthly spend limit could be costing you over 6% in charges !
Replacement cards
If you lose your card, you’ll need to pay £5.99 for a replacement.
What is Currensea?
Currensea is a travel debit card that allows you to spend money directly from your trusted bank account, rather than having to open up a new one or top up a prepaid card. It is based on open banking, which was introduced several years ago to promote innovation and competition in financial services so that you have access to a wider range of options and rates.
What card options does Currensea offer?
Currensea has three travel cards, including Currensea Premium and Currensea Elite. For the purposes of this comparison, we'll be focusing on Currensea Essential, which is free like the Curve standard card.
What is different about Currensea?
Currensea offers a product with realtime rates focused on providing you with the best possible rates as you spend abroad. Our card partners directly with your trusted bank account (unlike other travel cards), meaning that you can spend with your Currensea card abroad just as you would at home with your regular debit card. Funds come straight out of your bank account, and you can spend whatever credit balance you have.
Because it’s not a prepaid card, you never have to top up your Currensea card. You don’t have to worry about losing it and any funds that might remain on it, nor do you have to constantly top it up and remember how much you have on it: we offer travel, but without the hassle.
We also check how much your bank would have charged you to use your regular debit card abroad- and we can tell you exactly how much money you saved by using your Currensea card.
What does Currensea charge to spend abroad?
We convert your currency based on the real-time interbank exchange rate, with an additional markup of 0.5% per transaction no matter when you use it or how much you spend with it. No hidden fees, no weekend fees, no increases to the markup - just clear, transparent information on how much we charge and how much you save.
What other fees does Currensea charge?
Cash withdrawal
We charge our usual fee of 0.5% for withdrawals up to £500 a month, and for anything over this amount we charge 2%.
Replacement cards
While your first card is free, we charge a £5 replacement fee (but no delivery fees).
How does Currensea stack up against Curve?
We compared how much it would cost spending with Currensea versus Curve on a long weekend in Geneva for two. With a combination of card and cash spending, we found that using a Currensea card can save you just over £80 on FX fees compared to Curve.
Take a look at the table to see the breakdown of spend- we've also included a comparison of the costs to use both cards.
| |
Currensea charges |
Curve charges |
| CHF 2650 on card spending |
£11.53 |
£0 |
| CHF 200 on ATM withdrawals |
£0.87 |
£3.48 |
| Weekend spending fees |
£0 |
£21.15 |
| Spending over £250 fees |
£0 |
£55.76 |
| Card scheme rate |
£0 |
£13.39 |
| TOTAL |
£12.40 |
£93.77 |
Total saved with Currensea vs using Curve: £81.37
% saved with Currensea vs using Curve: 86.78%
In summary
Curve could be a great option if you want a card for spending solely in the UK, the convenience of having all your cards in one place and the the ability switch transactions between them.
However Curve really isn't set up for spending abroad, with the charges in our example above actually working out slightly more expensive than some of the high street banks standard cards.
By comparison Currensea’s rates are significantly lower. Although Curve uses the Mastercard card scheme rate, this includes a 0.54% markup over the interbank rate. Furthermore, Curve charge an extra 2.5% for spending over £250 in a rolling 30-day period, as well as an extra 1% for spending on weekends (when most people check out of their hotels). We offer the real-time interbank rate with a markup of just 0.5% no matter when or how much you spend, making us the far cheaper option. This is also true for ATM withdrawals- while Curve charge 2% with a minimum fee of £2, we only charge this rate when you withdraw over £500 in a month. Anything below this and we charge our standard rate of 0.5% with no minimum fee.
Overall, if you're looking for an easier way to manage your cards and transactions in the UK, then Curve is a good choice. However, if you want a product focussed on providing great rates when travelling abroad, so that you can save as much money as possible, then Currensea is for you.
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