Breaking news: Travelex Supercard now live for new applications and is still free

As of 10am this morning, the Travelex Supercard website is back up, a new app appeared in the app stores and it began to accept new applications.

If you want to get one, click here to download the app and apply.

I would move quickly as the company has told me that it expects a backlog to build up due to the physical constraints on producing the cards.  I imagine that moneysavingexpert.com will give it a big push tomorrow as they have promoted it in the past and their Wednesday newsletter goes to 10m people ……

Note that, if you were on the pilot programme, you must still make a fresh application via the app.

I will do a full article on Supercard tomorrow.  It is, in essence, a Curve-style product which allows you to make purchases which are recharged to an underlying Visa or Mastercard.

Supercard is aimed primarily at overseas use.  It allows you to bypass the 3% foreign exchange fee on almost all UK credit and debit cards.

You pay with your Supercard, the transaction is converted to £ by Travelex using the standard Mastercard wholesale rate, and it is recharged to your underlying Visa or Mastercard.

Here is a summary of the card benefits and how it differs from the pilot programme:

Supercard remains totally free.  Free to apply, free to use – although it requires a smartphone to operate.  I must be honest, I expected them to start charging but I was wrong.

It is a Mastercard.  This is a change from the pilot programme which operated on Visa.  As Mastercard FX rates are generally better than Visa, this is to your advantage.

There are NO FEES when using the card for purchases abroad.

There is a 2.99% fee for ATM withdrawals abroad.  This is a change from the pilot programme where ATM withdrawals were free.  Halifax Clarity, Creation Everyday and MBNA Everyday Plus are, I think, the only UK credit or debit cards which allows fee-free global ATM withdrawals.

Supercard is not a credit card so there is no credit check.  They will take steps to verify your identify to comply with general money laundering and compliance rules.

Whilst UK use is not banned, purchases or ATM withdrawals will incur a £1 plus 1% fee which makes them relatively pointless.  The only exception would be if you had a generous card like my old ‘2.5 Avios per £1’ bmi Mastercard – I could withdraw £200, pay £3 in fees and earn 500 Avios.

Transaction limits are generous – £500 cash per day, £50000 in total annual spend and various daily / monthly caps

I will write more tomorrow, but you have nothing to lose by heading to the website to check out the full details and then clicking here to download the app to order a free Supercard.  Even if you already have a ‘no FX fees’ credit card, Supercard could still be a better deal if you link it to a Visa or Mastercard which has richer rewards.

Don’t ask me how Travelex makes any money on Supercard because I don’t know.  There is probably an arbitrage on the interchange fees and some data mining opportunities.  The pilot programme must have convinced them that it does have serious long term potential.

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