Revolut currently accepts to open mobile bank accounts for residents of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States,
Revolut is rated 4.4 on TrustPilot - based on 102478 reviews.
While it’s clear that neo-banks aim to compete with online banks, they have everything it takes to succeed. The choice is yours, but which one to choose? It’s often necessary to compare welcome offers, rates, banking products, application and customer service quality. Are you too busy to do this research? Good thing, because we’ve done it for you. Revolut is one of the neobanks we have tested and compared.
Contents
Who’s Behind Revolut?
Vlad Yatsenko and Nikolay Storonsky, who founded Revolut, wanted to create an intuitive and simple platform to transfer money from one country to another. The neobank was founded by these former financial engineers in 2015. In 2017, they raised $3.5 million and then $66 million after that. Revolut became a neobank valued at $1.7 billion after raising $250 million in 2018.
Revolut: what is the story behind its name? Indeed, the company’s goal is to revolutionize banking services, hence its consonance with the word « revolution. » Revolut has been dubbed one of the most successful neobanks. One million customers in France, 12 million worldwide, 500 thousand business accounts opened, 152 payment options in 152 cities, and a money transfer solution in 30 currencies prove it.
The Plans
With Revolut, you have three options for current accounts:
- Standard
- Premium
- Metal
The Standard plan includes a UK account, a Euro IBAN, a Visa or Mastercard. This offer is free.
The Premium plan includes a UK account, a free euro IBAN, foreign health insurance, luggage insurance, the possibility to make cryptocurrency exchange operations, a premium card, and a virtual card. This offer costs £6.99/month (UK) or $9,99/month (USA).
The Metal plan includes a free British account, a free euro IBAN, medical insurance abroad, luggage insurance, purchase protection, a metal debit card, and many other advantages. This offer costs £12,99/month or $16,99/month (USA).
The neobank also offers a business plan, it is dedicated to companies and self-employed.
How to open a Revolut account?
Revolut accounts are easy to open and require only two steps. Before you can use Revolut, you must first download the application. An identity verification process will be performed along with the request for your phone number. You just need to credit your account to start using the platform. You will need to transfer money from another bank account to your Revolut account in order to credit it. Finally, you can order a physical bank card by going to the « Card » tab in the app, selecting « Physical » and following the instructions.
With the Revolut Junior plan, customers of the neobank can open sub-accounts for their children aged 7 to 17. An application is specially designed for your children, they also have a prepaid bank card.
Bank Cards Offered by Revolut
The bank cards offered by the neobank are all immediate debit and systematic authorization. Revolut has the right to decide which card you get between a Visa and a Mastercard.
- With the Standard plan, you get a free Mastercard bank card. It allows you to withdraw up to £200/$1,200 per month, beyond that a commission of 2% of the amount withdrawn is applied.
- With the Premium plan, you get a premium card available in three colors and a free card on request. You can withdraw up to £400/$1,200 per month without fees.
- With the Metal plan, you have a bank card made of steel, the metal card allows you to withdraw up to £800/$1,200 per month for free.
With Revolut you can also benefit from virtual cards, as their names indicate they are completely dematerialized. You can get codes that you use only on the internet.
Revolut, How much does it cost?
The choice of a neobank is often made on the prices it charges, our team of experts has of course looked closely at those charged by Revolut. Bank cards are free, cash withdrawals are free up to £200/$1,200 per month for the Standard plan, up to £400/$1,200 per month for the Premium plan, and up to £600/$1,200 per month for the Metal plan. Beyond that, a commission is charged on the amount withdrawn. Payments in foreign currencies are free in 150 currencies, regardless of the Revolut offer chosen. There are no exchange fees in 24 currencies.
Since a few months, Revolut has chosen to change its rates for the standard offer. For example, for a transfer of more than £1000, a fee of 0 5% is applied. Transfers outside the SEPA zone are charged 50 cents per transfer after the second transfer. For transfers in foreign currencies, £3 is charged for those made in dollars and £5 for other currencies.
Revolut is a neobank based in United Kingdom offering Personal accounts, Teenagers accounts, Business accounts including a debit card, with all transactions being managed from an iPhone or Android application.
Other Revolut Features
The Vault Group
To compete with the joint account of traditional banks Revolut has launched a Vault group. This is a collaborative savings solution very similar to a joint account, a Vault group is a collaborative safe deposit box that does not require the opening of a current account with Revolut. It can be opened by couples, family members, or friends. It allows you to save collectively in any currency and even a cryptocurrency. However, it is important to know that the savings are not remunerated. Each holder can deposit and withdraw money, it does not have a means of payment, so it is a simple deposit and withdrawal account that can be used by several people.
The investment
The Revolut application allows you to sell and buy money. The neobank indeed allows its customers to take a position on money, however, it charges a commission on each exchange. It also allows you to invest in gold and precious metals for one dollar. On the app, you have the possibility to trade cryptocurrencies and even convert currencies into cryptocurrencies.
The Application
The Revolut app is the strong point of the neobank, highly rated it is available on iOS and Android for free. It has many useful features for everyday use to manage your money and your account with just a few clicks. The app allows you to track your account and budget, it offers a budgeting feature to enter a budget for all your different spending items and it alerts you to let you know when you are approaching the limit.
The Revolut app also gives you access to the Revolut Vault feature, this is rounding up payments. If you wish, you can round up your card payments to the nearest whole number, the amount is stored in an account created on the app. From your smartphone or tablet, it offers you the possibility to make transfers to another Revolut account, but also to credit the account of a friend. All your contacts are displayed on the application if they also have the application. We find the Revolut application intuitive, convenient, and secure.
Customer Service
Revolut is a digital bank, to reach the customer service of the neobank you can use the social networks or the chat available on the app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you opt for the Premium plan or the Metal plan your application is processed as a priority. The neobank has a phone line, but it is automated, so you can not reach an advisor.
Affiliate Program
To get new customers, the neobank has set up a sponsorship system. To do this you must go to the dashboard of the application and then to « invite ». The sponsorship offer changes regularly in amount and is usually $15 for the sponsor and $6 for the sponsored person. Revolut offers a referral program to those who have a Revolut for Business account. You can receive $50 for each business you refer to, the referred business also receives $50.
Pros & Cons
We will end this article with a recap of the strengths and weaknesses of the neobank Revolut.
Free bank cards, a standard offer without fees and low fees. Revolut is a competitive neobank in terms of fees. Everyone can access it without income requirements or minimum deposit. Its main advantage is its foreign currency payment solution and its exchange operations without any fees. Its ergonomic and intuitive application is also a strong point of the neobank.
Nevertheless, our team of experts has a few criticisms to make about this neobank, we regret its almost non-existent offer of banking products, with notably the absence of savings or credit solutions. The current account does not have all the functionalities that one could wish for. It is an account with no authorized overdraft and you can’t deposit checks or cash. Customer service is difficult to reach and sponsorship offers are rare.
In conclusion, Revolut is a competitive neobank that is particularly adapted to be used abroad, it has been able to impose itself very quickly on the neobank market to become today one of its leaders.
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