Revolut is a handy financial sidekick if you frequently travel and need to make quick international transactions. It's a neobank (more about this below) that's not anywhere else but in your smartphone and unlimited in terms of currency and locations.
Bets are this concept is new to you, yet it's been around for quite some time. So read on to learn why Revolut can be a valuable addition to your financial toolbox.
What Is Revolut?
Revolut provides financial services, but not on the scale of traditional banking systems. It offers a prepaid card and app-only overseas payments, which can be made in currency with no long-term contracts, overdraft fees, or traditional banking attached.
The company started in July 2015 as a mobile and online banking provider whose goal was to free people from the excessive fees of conventional banking systems.
You can use your prepaid card from Revolut and top up via bank transfers. You can also request instant payments from your contracts using the Revolut application.
The service is incredibly convenient and loved by those who go abroad often and must transfer money internationally. For example, a freelancer who works with clients in different countries can simply get the payment from an international client and receive it in its currency.
Similarly, travelers can go anywhere with their Revolut app and pay in any currency without converting cash to a specific currency.
How Does Revolut Work?
Revolut allows you to download its app for free and create an account with no paperwork. Once you've done this, you'll receive your prepaid cards, and it's up to you how you store them. They can be digital, physically delivered, or even disposable.
With your Revolut card, you can make financial transactions with built-in tools that are free to use. If you want upgraded features like everyday spending security, unlimited investments, etc., you can purchase one of Revolut's plans and unlock their benefits.
The Revolut app is pretty intuitive for anyone to navigate, and the main features are checking balances, sending payments, checking received payments, etc. If you have money on your Revolut card, you can make payments via ApplePay or with a traditional PIN.
Recently, Revolut also introduced a debit card loyalty program: RevPoints. When spending money via Revolut, you earn reward points, which can be later deemed for special discounts and travel perks.
Is Revolut a Bank?
No. It's a neobank—a digital analog of a traditional bank —that offers features like physical cards, payments, currency conversion, and more. HoweverRevolut doesn't have a banking license like traditional banks meaning it cannot offer common bank services like loans or mortgages.
It also doesn't have physical branches, so you can't deposit cash or cheques. However, it provides contactless card payments, and transfers between Revolut users are instant, so it depends on your personal preferences if you are okay with these trade-offs.
Though Revolut is a neobank, and not a traditional bank, the funds you manage in Revolut have FSCS protection up to the maximum limit of £85,000 per person. This means the funds are FDIC-insured through partner banks, so you receive your funds even if your neobank closes or undergoes financial difficulties.
Revolut Account Types You Have
Well, what's the real features you get with Revolut? Let's take a shot at the main types of accounts you can open in Revolut - their features, rates, etc.
Fee-Free Personal Account
The free Standard account gives you a free debit card for fee-free overseas spending. You can make up to five cash withdrawals or withdraw up to £200 per rolling month in any country with no withdrawal fees.
If you exceed the mentioned amount, the fee is 2% per withdrawal.
Personal Accounts Charging Fee
If you want to have more than just standard services from Revolut, you have four choices:
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Plus - 2.39% savings interest
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Premium - 3% savings interest
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Metal - 4% savings interest
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Ultra - 4.75% savings interest
Paid plans offer benefits like cashback on card spend, shopping discounts, commission-free share trading, travel perks like airport lounge access, baggage insurance, and more.
With paid accounts, you can also benefit from savings interest, which is collected from the sum in your savings account.
Check the detailed benefits of each plan on Revolut's website.
Fee-Free Business Account
The Basic business plan is free of charge. It unlocks the basic features for companies or freelancers, including 5 no-fee local monthly transfers, borderless accounts, SWIFT account details, and recurring and scheduling payments.
The Basic plan is for small businesses with less than £100k monthly card turnover or individuals wanting to use it as freelancers.
Business Accounts Charging Fee
Here are the plans you get with an added fee for your business from Revolut.
- Grow
- Scale
- Enterprise
All paid business plans allow you to make no-fee international transfers - just what you need for your business growth.
They also unlock bulk payments, savings, limit and stop orders, analytics, expense approval, business API, rewards, and more.
Besides, Revolut has a great trick for business users—it allows forward contracts on currency transfers, which means you lock into an exchange rate at a specific time and make a transaction at a later date with the fixed rate.
Check business plans on Revolut's website for more insight.
Joint Account
If you and your family members, relatives, close friends, or anyone you want to share your finances with live in the same country, are over 18, and are Revolut personal plan users, you can create a joint account with them.
To do that, you just need to invite the person to your account from Revolut's app's hub. Each person can have only 1 Revolut joint account, and this option applies to every individual plan in the Neobank.
What Does Revolut Offer?
Although you have already received a lot of information on Revolut's features and options, you may still have some questions, such as what it works with.
Revolut's key features can be used after creating your unique account.
Money Transfers
Money transfers are fee-free on weekdays and apply fees to all accounts on weekends. With Revolut, you can make transfers in around 80 currencies, which usually take up to 2 days to process.
Sometimes, a money transfer with your Revolut account can take up to five days, depending on the recipient country's policies and the receiving or sending party's bank or financial institution.
Card
Available as Visa or Mastercard, Revolut's card allows you to make payments in different countries with different currencies and 0% commission. You can also buy cryptocurrency with your card.
Budgeting
You can create different Pockets in Revolut, which are your main spending directions in different groups. This aims to track how much and when you're spending your money. You can also set up monthly budgets to manage how much you'd like to spend on different categories or activities.
Anytime you log in to your Revolut account, you see a friendly table showing statistics and graphs of your spending and savings.
App
Revolut's app is available for iOS and Android. It allows you to make money transfers 24/7 and navigate all your financial activities in one place with a clean and intuitive interface. It's significantly simpler to use than many online banking apps from traditional banks, so forget about outdated designs and complicated navigation.
What Are The Benefits of Using Revolut?
Modern customers have fairly common preferences. They want quick, convenient, and cost-effective solutions, all of which Revolut provides.
Convenient Fee System
Most Revolut users choose the system because it offers fee-free overseas card spending and convenient overseas bank transfer fees.
Money transfers between Revolut customers are always free, and transfers are made between Monday and Friday.
You spend significantly less with Revolut than with conventional banking methods, which allows you to save money in the long run.
Cashback When Booking Holiday Stay
Revolut Stays is Revolut's booking service that offers exclusive discounts and cashback for Revolut users when booking a holiday stay. You can save up to 10% on your bookings, which is an excellent way to reduce travel costs.
The Verdict
Revolut Pros:
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Convenient and easy-to-use app
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Cost-effective fees for money transfers and card spending overseas
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Free money transfers between Revolut customers
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Exclusive discounts and cashback when booking holiday stays through Revolut's platform
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Quick transactions, available 24/7
Revolut Cons:
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No physical branches for in-person assistance
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Inability to deposit or withdraw physical cash
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No traditional licensing or regulations
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Currency exchange rates are Revolut's own - not the interbank rates
