So after registering god knows how long ago I finally get a code.
I download the app... I copy the code from my email which gives me problem number 1.... there's no way to 'paste' it into the app. Why not? Isn't the point of this new bank to be different, be up to date, be slick, be easy, be a good experience you'll want to repeat and tell your friends and family about.
Anyway, a bad start but....... It soon got worse!!
Not only can I not paste the code in, but once I manually add it I'm presented with a picture of 'Jon' (head of Security) with a message that the code doesn't work. I double and triple check the code and go through this 3 times. Then I think, ok, the code is in capitals in the email but maybe it actually needs lowercase letters - no. I'm now a hugely frustrated ex-potential customer.
You can keep your new bank and your app. I'll happily give other new banks the same crack of the whip.
Maybe the guys at Atom should look at the experience Revolut provides once you download their app.
Reviewed on: 22nd July 2016
The Travelex Supercard was launched to a limited number of trial users last year. The premise is simple - link the cards from your accounts, credit and debit, through an app to the card and use it for your spending, and cash withdrawals. The advantage is in using the card overseas, incurring no fees (the exchange rate is close to perfect and certainly better than a bank would give you on a debit withdrawal).
The trial period ends in June with the full version of the card set to be rolled out thereafter, if it remains free then there will be little reason not to have one in your wallet, especially if you travel abroad.
There are 1 or 2 minor issues Travelex need to address, the first of which is their support which I had to use once when a charge processed incorrectly. The process was frustrating and the agents I spoke with didn't seem to understand that there was actually an issue, it was eventually resolved.
The other is that currently the card doesn't support AMEX which restricts it's appeal for many, especially those who use credit cards as points collecting vessels (hotel loyalty points, airline miles etc).
Very occasionally the card isn't accepted, but this is rare - I experienced it twice during the year, once in Las Vegas and once in Toronto - both times in a restaurant.
The app itself shows your transactions pretty much immediately, along with the exchange rate, the £ value of the transaction and the potential saving you've made. Your account is charged a couple of days later. There were some issues early on when transactions were taking up to 2 weeks to process through to the linked account, however these appear to have been resolved.
All in all I think a great product - will I get one when fully launched Yes. Would I pay a fee for it (such as the Curve cards recently released, which does support AMEX), I think I probably would, especially if I knew I had a few trips coming up in the year.
Reviewed on: 29th April 2016
