Revolut

Revolut is the most feature-dense fintech in Europe. What started as a travel card has grown into a multi-currency super-app covering personal banking, business accounts, cards, stocks, crypto, savings, insurance and international transfers. For travellers, freelancers and internationally-minded consumers, it is genuinely one-app-to-rule-them-all — but its regulatory status varies by country, its exchange rates step down at weekends, and support quality remains its most persistent weakness.

Best for

• Frequent travellers who want the interbank exchange rate on card spend and ATM withdrawals.
• Freelancers and remote workers billing clients in multiple currencies.
• European consumers who want a mobile-first spending, budgeting and savings app in one place.
• Small international teams that need multi-currency business accounts, virtual cards and expense controls without a legacy bank.

Not ideal for

• Anyone who needs a licensed high-street bank relationship in their home country — Revolut's licence varies by geography.
• Businesses that rely heavily on branch cash deposits or paper cheque banking.
• Users who need same-day telephone support — Revolut is chat-first and can be slow in edge cases.
• Weekend FX-heavy trading — Revolut adds a 1% markup on currency conversion at weekends.

Independent verdict

Revolut is the strongest all-round fintech we cover for globally-minded users. On core spending, transfers and multi-currency holdings the free plan is already unusually generous, and the paid tiers unlock genuinely useful travel and lounge benefits rather than cosmetic upgrades. The Business product has matured into a credible operating account for international SMBs, particularly those with cross-border invoicing.

The caveats are structural rather than tactical. Regulatory posture matters — Revolut is a fully-licensed bank in the EU (via Revolut Bank UAB, Lithuania), operates in the UK under a recently-granted UK banking licence with restrictions being lifted in phases, and in most other markets operates as an e-money institution (EMI). That distinction changes how your money is protected. And Wise remains materially cheaper on pure international transfers above a few thousand euros.

Personal vs Business

Personal: a spending, saving and multi-currency account with cards, budgeting, savings vaults, stocks, crypto and insurance. Plans run Standard (free), Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra — each unlocking higher fee-free FX limits, ATM allowances, travel benefits and lounge access.

Business: a separate product with multi-currency accounts, batch payments, expense management, physical and virtual corporate cards, permission controls, API access and accounting integrations. Business plans run Basic (free), Grow, Scale and Enterprise. Fees are per-payment above the plan allowance rather than per-transaction on cards.

Pricing model

Revolut Personal is freemium — Standard has no monthly fee and covers the majority of everyday use. Paid tiers add higher fee-free FX allowances (Plus €10k/mo, Premium unlimited weekday FX, Metal / Ultra layer in perks). Revolut Business is a monthly plan plus pay-as-you-go for anything above the allowance. All headline pricing is published on revolut.com — check your regional pricing page before committing, as plan names, prices and included allowances vary by country.

Account types

Personal current accounts, joint accounts (in supported markets), Junior accounts for under-18s, business accounts, freelancer accounts, and dedicated Revolut Pro accounts for sole traders who want a light commercial layer on top of a personal profile. In-app savings vaults, flexible cash funds and instant-access savings vary by country.

Eligibility

Personal signup requires you to be resident in a supported country and meet standard KYC. Revolut Business onboarding is heavier: incorporation documents, ownership structure, expected transaction volumes and (in some markets) source-of-funds evidence. Approval times vary — many accounts open within a day; edge cases can take a week or longer.

Supported countries

Revolut Personal is available across the UK, EEA, Switzerland, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Brazil, India (limited) and a growing list beyond. Revolut Business covers the UK, EEA and Switzerland, the US, and Australia. The exact product surface — savings, stocks, crypto, mortgages — differs meaningfully by market.

Supported currencies

Multi-currency accounts hold and exchange 25+ currencies at the interbank rate within the plan allowance. Local account details are available in GBP, EUR, USD, CHF and several others, so you can receive salaries or client payments as if you had a local bank account.

Transfers

Domestic transfers in home currency are typically instant and free (Faster Payments in the UK, SEPA Instant in the EEA). International transfers run at the interbank rate within your fee-free allowance; above that a small percentage fee applies. Cross-border wires and SWIFT transfers carry additional fixed fees. For large one-off international transfers, Wise is generally cheaper on pure percentage terms.

FX pricing

Standard, Plus, Premium and Metal plans include a fee-free FX allowance per month (higher on paid tiers). Above that allowance, Revolut applies a small percentage markup. All plans add a 1% markup on weekend FX (Fri night to Sun night UTC) — a critical detail for anyone spending abroad at weekends. Uncommon or emerging-market currencies carry additional markups regardless of plan.

Cards and ATM usage

Personal plans include a physical debit card (contactless and Apple Pay / Google Pay ready) plus unlimited virtual cards and disposable single-use virtual cards for online spending. ATM withdrawal allowances are fee-free up to a monthly limit — €200/mo on Standard, stepping up through paid tiers. Above the allowance a small percentage fee applies. Business plans provide unlimited virtual cards, physical cards for team members and per-card spend controls.

Cash deposits

Cash handling is Revolut's structural weakness. There is no branch network. In a few markets it partners with third-party cash-in networks (Post Office in some countries, PayPoint in the UK for top-ups), but you pay a percentage fee and daily limits are low. If cash is a material part of your workflow, Revolut is not the right primary account.

Business features

Revolut Business covers multi-currency accounts, bulk payments, scheduled payments, standing orders, expense management with receipt capture, virtual and physical corporate cards, spend controls per team member, currency conversion at interbank + small markup, direct debits, and merchant acquiring (Revolut Reader for in-person and Revolut Pay for online checkout).

Team access and expense controls

Team members are added with role-based permissions (Owner, Admin, Finance, Team member). Per-user spending limits, category restrictions and merchant-level controls are managed in-app. Approvals workflows route larger payments through designated approvers. Card freezing and instant issuance of virtual cards for one-off vendor spend are standard.

Invoicing

Revolut Business includes a light native invoicing tool — create, send and track invoices, with a pay-by-link that settles directly into your Revolut account. It is competent for freelancer-scale use, not a replacement for QuickBooks, Xero or FreshBooks for growing businesses.

Accounting integrations

Direct integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent and Zoho Books. Bank feeds sync transactions automatically for reconciliation. For deeper automation there is a public API and Zapier support.

Security

Biometric login, 3D Secure on card transactions, in-app card freezing, per-transaction push notifications, location-based transaction rules and disposable virtual cards. Revolut is regulated by the relevant authority in each of its markets. For business accounts, permissioned access and approval workflows reduce internal fraud risk.

Safeguarding and deposit protection

This is the single most important detail to understand. In the EEA, Revolut is a fully-licensed bank (via Revolut Bank UAB), and deposits are covered by the Lithuanian deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000. In the UK, Revolut received a banking licence in 2024 and is completing the mobilisation phase — deposit protection under FSCS applies where accounts are held with the UK entity; check the app for the entity holding your account. In most other markets Revolut operates as an e-money institution (EMI) and your funds are safeguarded (held in segregated accounts at partner banks) rather than protected by a deposit-guarantee scheme.

Customer support

Chat-first, in-app, with tiered response times by plan. Standard users can wait — Premium and above get priority. Phone support is limited and not available in all markets. Complex account-freeze cases have been a persistent source of complaint historically; account remediation has improved but is still slower than a high-street bank.

Mobile and desktop experience

Revolut is mobile-first. The iOS and Android apps are unusually well-designed for a financial app — quick, clear and dense with functionality. Revolut Business has a full web dashboard for finance teams; Revolut Personal has a limited web view for balances and statements, but virtually all actions live in the app.

Strengths

• Interbank FX with generous free allowances on the free plan.
• Multi-currency accounts with local details in five major currencies.
• Excellent card controls, budgeting and instant virtual cards.
• Business product has matured into a credible international operating account.

Weaknesses

• Weekend FX markup catches out casual travellers.
• Regulatory posture varies by market — deposit protection is not universal.
• Support quality is chat-first and can be slow on complex cases.
• Cash deposits are limited to weak third-party partnerships.

Alternatives worth comparing

• Wise — better on pure international transfer economics and cleaner regulatory posture as a licensed EMI.
• Monzo — a fully-licensed UK bank with a warmer domestic experience.
• N26 — a European banking licence with a simpler product surface.

Our final take

Revolut is the default recommendation for travellers, freelancers and internationally-minded users who want one app for spending, saving and cross-border money. Pair it with a fully-licensed home-country bank account for salary and safety, and use Wise for large one-off international transfers. That combination is close to optimal on cost and coverage for most international workers in 2026.