Today, millions of people travel abroad for tourism, business, or studies while many choose to move to another country for good. As a result, the popularity of international money transfer services is on the rise, but figuring out the best solution might be tricky. One of the providers offering such services is Revolut which has become a buzz word in the fintech industry. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of using Revolut abroad and what benefits the company has to offer.
What is Revolut?
Revolut is a fintech company that is aiming ‘to build the first global financial superapp’. Since its launch in 2015, it has grown from a niche startup into one of the market leaders. Based in the UK and working in more than 200 countries, Revolut reached 25 million retail customers in November 2022.
It was conceived to enable international travellers to benefit from lower foreign exchange fees, and today the ability to handle transactions in multiple currencies remains one of the major Revolut benefits.
In 2018, the company received its first banking licence in Lithuania and has since then expanded its operations in a similar capacity to some other European states. As a digital bank and an aspiring ‘superapp’, Revolut offers services such as bank accounts, debit cards (and credit cards in several countries), loans, currency exchange including for a number of popular cryptocurrencies, ATM withdrawals, money transfers and peer-to-peer payments among others. Other available features include saving ‘vaults’, budget management, equities trading facility, etc. Revolut also courts the business sector with dedicated subscription plans and its latest Revolut Pay system that aims to compete with PayPal for secure online checkout.
While the Revolut app itself is free, not all its services are available to free users. The company offers a tiered subscription system with fees going as high as €13.99 a month. Naturally, those on more expensive Revolut plans are offered better conditions and a wider range of Revolut benefits than someone on a free Standard plan. How does Revolut work?
Revolut offers four personal subscription plans, and each of those also allows one to get a Revolut Pro account for freelancers. Revolut card pros and cons will depend on what specific services the customer favours. For example, when looking at Revolut Premium vs Metal accounts, the latter might interest those who use Revolut for card payments, as it offers cashback.
Revolut Personal Subscription Plans
| Options | Revolut Standard | Revolut Plus | Revolut Premium | Revolut Metal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription fee/month | Free | €2.99 | €7.99 | €13.99 |
| Number of free cards (charges for delivery, replacement, customisation, etc. apply) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Free ATM withdrawals /rolling month | up to €200 or 5x; then, 2% charge applies (min. €1) | up to €200 or 5x; then, 2% charge applies (min. €1) | up to €400 or 5x; then, 2% charge applies (min. €1) | up to €800 or 5x; then, 2% charge applies (min. €1) |
| International transfer fees | Full | Full | -20% | -40% |
| Currency exchange /month | up to €1,000; then, 1% fee | up to €1,000; then, 0.5% fee | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Crypto exchange fees | 1,99% (min €0.99) | 1,99% (min €0.99) | 1,49% (no minimum) | 1,49% (no minimum) |
| Cashback on card payments /month | - | - | - | up to €12.99 |
- Exceptions apply for some currencies, on weekends/holidays, etc.
All Revolut plans offer similar terms for international money transfers. Namely, sending money between Revolut users, in local currency and within the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) are all fee-free, according to the company. At the same time, international card transfers are subject to variable fees depending on the amount, destination, etc. The difference is that, unlike those with Premium and Metal plans, Standard and Plus users have to cover additional charges if they send more than €1,000 per month in non-SEPA transfers. Furthermore, the recipient’s bank might apply extra charges for incoming funds.
All Revolut plans offer similar terms for international money transfers. Namely, sending money between Revolut users, in local currency and within the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) are all fee-free, according to the company. At the same time, international card transfers are subject to variable fees depending on the amount, destination, etc. The difference is that, unlike those with Premium and Metal plans, Standard and Plus users have to cover additional charges if they send more than €1,000 per month in non-SEPA transfers. Furthermore, the recipient’s bank might apply extra charges for incoming funds.
Signing up with Revolut
To sign up with Revolut, you first need to download the app, verify your phone number, and set a password. The app requires you to provide basic information such as your name and surname, date of birth, mailing address and email address. You also have to disclose your residency and prove your identity, namely upload a selfie and an identity document. Furthermore, you will be asked to provide details about your tax residency. Having shared all these personal data with Revolut, you then need to add money to your account (additional charges may apply) to be able to send a transfer. Which means, you have to link your main bank account with Revolut, feeding into the system all the details including your card number, expiry date, CVC code and billing address.
By the way, you can never know all the conditions of your transfer, such as the amount your recipient ultimately gets, before registration. Instead, you can confirm exact Revolut fees ‘at the time of transaction’.
What do Revolut users have to say?
For objective customer feedback, let’s explore the Revolut card reviews on Trustpilot, a highly popular European customer review platform. Revolut boasts an ‘Excellent’ status there with a rating of 4.3 out of 5. Three quarters of the reviewers have given the company five stars. Most commonly, Revolut reviews highlight its wide selection of products and features and convenience when using Revolut abroad as well as fast transactions within the system. At the same time, around 10% of Revolut card reviews are one star. The complaints are about poor, bot-operated customer support, inexplicable freezing of accounts for prolonged periods of time, extra charges, e.g. on weekends or for certain currencies, etc.
Are there alternatives to Revolut?
To balance this Revolut review, it would be fair to mention some alternative ways to send money online internationally. Among the market leaders are companies such as Wise (ex-TransferWise), TransferGo and PayPal’s Xoom. Compared to Revolut, each has its stronger and weaker points. For example, Wise is known for better exchange rates, but the delivery time is longer. In turn, TransferGo is easier to use but it also offers fewer features. Xoom is convenient for those with funds in their PayPal account, but its markup far exceeds Revolut fees.
But then there is Profee, a licensed European money transfer service which is user-friendly, fast and reliable. It covers over 55 destinations in Europe and beyond and offers one of the most competitive foreign exchange rates thanks to its state-of-the-art in-house market monitoring system. Profee charges a fixed fee of €1 regardless of the amount/destination/currency and always displays the exchange rate applied to any given transfer before the money is sent.
Unlike Revolut, Profee is fully transparent about its fees. You can simply visit Profee.com and, using the converter, check the exact amount to be deposited to your recipient’s account. If you are satisfied with what you see (and you will be, for sure!), then you sign up. The only details you need to provide during registration are your full name, date of birth and mailing and email addresses. After signup, sending money online is possible both via the website and iOS or Android app.
Profee also has a higher rating on Trustpilot: 4.7 out of 5 vs Revolut’s 4.3. An overwhelming majority of the reviewers, 88%, have awarded Profee with five stars, securing it an ‘Excellent’ grade. ‘Super-fast’, ‘reliable’, ‘easy’ are among the terms used by most of the reviewers; as one of them puts it, Profee is an ‘almost perfect’ money transfer solution.
Should I subscribe to Revolut?
That depends on what exactly you would like to do with your money and on your lifestyle in general. Overall, using Revolut abroad may be a go-to option for those who are financially secure and literate, travel extensively and need to juggle payments in different currencies including crypto. Still, one should be aware that Revolut fees may change in the background, for example if you exchange currency at the weekend or have reached the €1,000 limit while not a Revolut Premium or Metal subscriber.
However, if what you need is simply sending money to your loved ones, then the ‘superapp’ universe may be somewhat too much. With all Revolut card pros and cons, there are solutions, such as Profee, that offer comparably favourable terms for international transfers but at the same time are far simpler and more efficient even given all the Revolut benefits. Visit Profee website or get the Profee app from Google Play or the App Store to see for yourself.
