Last updated on January 28th, 2024 at 03:26 am
Revolut vs Wise – Whether you are traveling and need better options for exchange rates between currencies, or you are a freelancer/entrepreneur and get paid in various currencies online, multicurrency accounts like Revolut and Wise are now very important. Read here Wise vs Payoneer and Wise vs Remitly
In this article, we discuss both features of Revolut vs Wise, pros, and cons, exchange rates, who are allowed to get them, and other advantages and disadvantages of each card so you can make a decision on what to choose between these two.
One of the main features of Revolut and Wise is that both cards offer multi-currency accounts for personal, travel, and business use. This is why we love them both and are reviewing them extensively in this article today.
Usually, we have access to credit cards, and you can use these anywhere in the world. Exchange rates and withdrawal rates can be not favorable with credit cards so there are definitely multi-currency cards.
You can use your accounts to receive money anywhere in the world, you can use them to spend money, and you can store your money in various currencies which lets you protect yourself from inflation and keep your money and take advantage of exchange and currency rates when its best for you.
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What is a Revolut Card and Revolut’s Top Features
Debit Card and Multi-Currency Account
Revolut card works like regular debit card. You can use it to spend anywhere in the world that accepts Visa. Revolut card can be topped up easily through a credit/debit card and it’s a multicurrency or borderless account so you can store your money in up to 28 currencies.
Purchases with your Revolut Card
Payment is very seamless and efficient with your Revolut Card. Once you start using it anywhere where Visa is accepted, in-store or online, the price gets deducted from the right/relevant currency.
If that particular currency has no balance/insufficient balance, Revolut will convert other currencies and automatically deduct from them. It will begin with your base currency, then move to the others.
Budgeting and Analytics App with Revolut
One of Revolut’s unique features and an advantage over the other debit cards and multi-currency cards online is the budgeting and analytics tool available on its app. You can check it here. Revolut’s budget and analytics tool help you plan your budget and set up amounts for various budget categories to plan and monitor your spending.
If you’re someone who loves to see graphs and where you’re spending is going, and controlling by advance planning, Revolut’s Budgeting and Anaytics App is super fun and useful.
Revolut, built for teens
Revolut has cards for teens aged 6-17 that can help set them up early for financial success like understanding savings and spending at an early age.
The Revolut Card Options
Revolut Standard
You can get a FREE Revolut Card with all the standard features that you need for a powerful digital, multi-currency account and debit card. If you’re an advanced user, or happy to get more perks, you can also upgrade to 3 more of their card subscriptions – Revolut Plus, Premium, and Metal.
Below are features of the Revolut Standard Card:
1. Paying and Transfering money to friends is FREE through the Revolut App anywhere in the World
2. The Revolut App features split the bill so you can split any expenses with friends and settle bills without any hassle
3. Owning the Revolut card also opens you to a lot of cashback and rewards.
If you prefer some serious upgrades to your Revolut card, Revolut’s subscription cards definitely come fully packed with additional advantages and features.
Revolut Plus – £2.99/month
In addition to the Revolut Standard features, see the Revolut Plus card features below:
1. No fee for withdrawals for up to £200 monthly. Withdraw using ATMs in Revolut’s network to take advantage of zero to almost no fees. Here is the complete and updated list of ATMs around the world for Revolut, and it is continuously updated.
2. Get Full Purchase Protection for up to £1,000 for a year, whether damaged or stolen on your purchases through your card. You can also get a 90-day return window for purchases you do with the Revolut Plus card. Even for ticketed events up to £1,000.
Revolut Premium – £6.99/month
If you upgrade to the Revolut Premium card, see additional features you’ll get below:
1. Get the best exchange rates with no fees so you can spend, exchange and transfer money, Monday to Friday
2. Withdraw for free for up to £400 every month on Revolut-partnered ATMs .After that, it’s just a 2% fee when you withdraw.
2. No booking fees from your Revolut Premium card when you use it for booking accommodation, and you can even get 5% cashback and some exclusive rates promos
3. Revolut also offers Revolut Travel insurance, with emergency medical and dental coverage.
4. 5. Get no limits on sending money abroad, and 20% off transfer fees. You can also do unlimited domestic transfers and see the whole progress through the Revolut App
5. Get Full Purchase Protection for up to £2,500 for a year, whether damaged or stolen on your purchases through your card. You can also get a 90-day return window for purchases you do with the Revolut Plus card. Even for ticketed events up to £1,000.
6. Access Exclusive Premium Card styles for new designs and stylish cards you’d love to bring with you anywhere
Revolut Metal – £12.99/month
For £12.99/month, you can upgrade to the Revolut Metal, Revolut’s highest subscription with the most exciting perks. Check the complete features you’ll be getting below:
1. With Revolut Metal, you get to send UNLIMITED domestic transfers, 40% off on all fees. on all th
2. You can get the best exchange rates with no fees so you can spend, exchange and transfer money, Monday to Friday.
2. Withdraw for free for up to £800 every month in free international ATM withdrawals. After that, it’s just a 2% fee when you withdraw.
2. For your travel needs, get exlusive booking rates and no booking fees from your Revolut Metal card when you use it for booking accommodation, and get 10% cashback.
3. Revolut also offers Revolut Travel insurance, with emergency medical and dental coverage, delayed flights and baggage insurance are also included.
4. 5. Get no limits on sending money abroad, and 20% off transfer fees. You can also do unlimited domestic transfers and see the whole progress through the Revolut App
5. Get Full Purchase Protection for up to £2,500 for a year, whether damaged or stolen on your purchases through your card. You can also get a 90-day return window for purchases you do with the Revolut Plus card. Even for ticketed events up to £1,000.
6. Revolut Metal also gives you some investment opportunities. You can have up to 1.67% annual interest paid daily on savings, cashback, low-fee crypto & much more (capital at risk).
7. If you’re into stock trades, with Revolut Metal you can get 10 commission-free trades each month. You can also get started with Crypto investments with very low fees.
8. Get 1% cashback on payments you make with your Revolut Metal.
9. Access to Exclusive Metal Card styles, 18g solid reinforced steel metal card for new designs and stylish cards you’d love to bring with you anywhere.
Other Features of Revolut App
Revolut card offers a lot more features which helps you with your day-to-day life, and while traveling. Apart from being a very reliable debit card and multicurrency account, you have the following features with Revolut:
Get your salary a day early with Revolut
Yes, if you find yourself short in cash and needing your salary sooner than you have expected, then this feature is amazing. Get your salary a day sooner by switching from your current salary bank to Revolut.
Manage subscriptions in Revolut App
Sometimes online subscriptions can get out of hand. Make sure you unsubscribe and manage the dates of your subscription from the Revolut app.
Earn up to 0.75% annual interest paid daily with Savings Vaults
Additional savings you can get with Revolut with up to .75% annual interest paid on Savings
| Standard | Plus | Premium | Metal | |
| Cost | Free | £2.99/month | £6.99/month | £12.99/month |
| Supported Currencies | 150+ | 150+ | 150+ | 150+ |
| Money Remittance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No. of Currencies you can store | 28+ | 28+ | 28+ | 28+ |
| Overseas ATM Withdrawals | No fees up to £200/ month | No fees up to £200/month | No fees up to £400/month | No fees up to £800/month |
| Insurance | None | Emergency Medical and Dental | Emergency Medical and Dental, Baggage Delay, Loss/Dmg Items | Emergency Medical and Dental, Baggage Delay, Loss/Dmg Items |
| Lounge | None | LoungeKey Pass | LoungeKey Pass | |
| Disposable Virtual Cards | 1 free | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| Cashback | None | None | 1% on overseas spending | |
| Support | None | Priority | Priority + Dedicated Concierge | |
| Card | Normal Card | Premium Card | Excl. Metal Card |
Where is Revolut Available
Revolut is not available everywhere just yet, but they are constantly expanding. Here are all the countries that can have the Revolut Card right now:
Legal residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The EEA includes:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
What is Wise and Wise’s Top Features
Wise (formerly known as Transferwise) is one of the top multi-currency accounts used by a lot of freelancers and travelers around the world at the moment because of their very favorable rates.
The main advantage of having the possibility of a personal account with Wise, is that transfers between two personal Wise accounts are completely free. No hidden fees. Even if the one sending you money is a client or an employer, no fees will be charged.
Competitive Conversion Fees with Wise
If you’re sending a payment in a different currency, a small fee is charged. And right now, Wise is known to have some of the most competitive when it comes to conversion fees. This is why Revolut vs Wise easily goes to Wise when it comes to least-cost personal transfers.
Multicurrency Account with Wise
With Wise, you can hold up to 50 currencies, and you can send and receive money in all these currencies. This helps you receive money for freelancing work, or pay others, or send money between friends and family in a safe and non-costly way.
The Wise Card
In addition to being able to use Wise to send and receive money, and hold it in various currencies, you can now have the Wise Card to use your money and spend it online or offline. Right now, it’s not available for everyone yet who has a Wise account but it’s constantly expanding.
The Wise card is currently available for residents of these countries and regions who have a Wise account.
Europe
Austria, Belgium, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (only Metropolitan), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory) and the UK Crown Dependencies: Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey.
Other countries in the European area:
Andorra, Åland Islands, Saint Barthélemy, Curaçao, Falkland Islands [Malvinas], Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Greenland, Guadeloupe, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Cayman Islands, Monaco, Saint Martin (French part), Martinique, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Réunion, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, San Marino, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), French Southern Territories, Holy See, Virgin Islands (British), Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte
Asia
Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand.
North America
Canada and the US (except for residents in Nevada).
Latin America
Brazil.
Revolut vs Wise – Costs and Exchange Rate
Receiving Money with a Wise Business Account
With the Wise Business account, you can receive payments in 10 currencies. This feature allows you to receive money in your account, like a local, stored in local currencies.
When you’re using Wise to receive money, you’ll have access to a US routing number, IBAN, UK sort code, and more for a one-time fee of $31.
This is one of our favorite features – something a lot of digital nomads need. We can work with various clients around the globe, and save that money in our Wise account in local currencies so that fluctuations are avoided, and we can withdraw just when we need them, and in currencies we like.
Depending on the bank account you have, you’ll always need to withdraw in the local currency of your bank, unless you’re using a card that is directly issued by Wise.
Wise won’t charge you for receiving payments to your account details, with the exception of receiving a US domestic wire transfer and a SWIFT transfer that can cost about $4,14 per transaction.
You won’t be charged for receiving ACH payments.
Setting up your account details takes about a few minutes with Wise. Once you have your details ready, you can share these payment details to receive payments from clients, anywhere around the world.
You can also set up direct debits. You can also withdraw profit from sales platforms and convert between currencies using the mid-market rate.
Receiving Money with Revolut
Exchange rate – Revolut vs Wise
Wise Currency Exchange Rates
One of the more popular features of Wise is that they use an ‘interbank-exchange rate’ more known as the mid-market exchange rate. Easier explained this allows Wise to have one of the best exchange rates when it comes to money transfers around the world at the moment.
Revolut Currency Exchange Rates & ATM Withdrawal
Currency Exchange Fees: 0-2.5% depending on membership and market hours
Overseas ATM Withdrawal:
| Overseas ATM Withdrawals | No fees up to £200/ month | No fees up to £200/month | No fees up to £400/month | No fees up to £800/month |
For any withdrawals exceeding the amounts above, a 2% fee is added.
Currency Exchange Rates
Revolut uses the real exchange rate for money currency exchanges, and don’t add any markups to it. The “real” rate can mean different things to different people (and can be given different names, like the “interbank” rate). Here at Revolut, the real exchange rate means the buy and sell rates we have determined based on the foreign exchange market data feeds we consume from a range of different independent sources.
The good thing about using a multi-currency wallet is that you can lock in favorable exchange rates ahead of time before you need them. You can preset everything inside Revolut app and even sest up some price alerts for changes.
Currency Exchange Fees
A currency exchange fee is charged based on a few factors — your membership level (standard, plus, premium or metal card), the amount you exchange each month, and London’s market hours. With Revolut, you are split into either a “Regular” or “High-Frequency Standard” customer.
*High-Frequency Standard rates are charged to standard users (free membership) who have exchanged more than S$9,000 or equivalent in any rolling month.
Revolut also locks in the closing rate for the weekend (UTC) and charges more currency exchange fees to protect against market fluctuations when it’s closed. Here’s the breakdown:
Exchange Fees during market hours (UTC, Mon-Fri)
| Regular | High Frequency Standard | |
| THB and UAH | 1% | 1.5% |
| USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NZD, CHF, JPY, SEK, HKD, NOK, SGD, DKK, PLN, ISK, RSD and CZK | No Fee | 0.5% |
| Others | No Fee | 0.5% |
Exchange Fees after market hours (UTC, Sat-Sun, trading holidays)
| Regular | High Frequency Standard | |
| THB and UAH | 2% | 2.5% |
| USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NZD, CHF, JPY, SEK, HKD, NOK, SGD, DKK, PLN, ISK, RSD and CZK | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Others | 1.0% | 1.5% |
Revolut vs Wise – Features
How fast can you Receive Money with Wise
Ahh, instant sending and receiving of money is now a very important feature.
Wise tries to process international business transfers as soon as possible, so it’s possible to receive money instantly or on the same day. More usually, transfers can take from 1-2 business days, depending on the currency and payment method. You’ll always see the expectation dates on the app or website, at the time you process the payment.
Withdrawing money from your Wise currency account can be as simple as sending money to your local bank account. It works the same way as the ‘send money’ function so the same speed should apply as above.
How fast can you Receive Money with Revolut
Convenience in Receiving Money: Revolut vs Wise
Both Wise and Revolut provide a lot of convenience in receiving money. This is the main reason for e-wallets and digital banks. Managing payments are easy as well, as you can do this with both the official website and their apps.
Security and Reliability with using Revolut vs Wise
Happy to say that both companies have the highest standards when it comes to security and their customer service. Both are huge international companies that can support these features.
2-step login for example allows you to put extra security in all your logins.
Wise will kick you out of the system after 10 tries of an incorrect password and will ask you for more verification.
Revolut vs Wise: Pros and Cons
We believe that both Wise and Revolut offer very strong features to digital nomads and freelancers and normal users when it comes to transferring and receiving money online.
Here are some pros and cons of using Revolut vs Wise that you might want to look at when deciding which one to use. Suggestion: You can actually have accounts for both and use Wise or Revolut, depending on your particular need.
Wise Pros
- Wise (formerly Transferwise) biggest selling point is it provides a low-cost way to send money or transfer money internationally. Whether you’re paying/receiving money for work done, or sending money to friends and family, Wise is guaranteed to give one of the lowest costs in the market at the moment.
- Wise allows immediate transfer of money using a debit or credit card.
- No exchange rate markups – this is the Wise ultimate promise. The biggest differentiator they have among all the payment transfers available online is Wise’s use of the midmarket rate. Wise doesn’t charge a markup on the exchange rate.
Wise Cons
- The biggest con of using Wise is that they only offer you to receive money ONLY to a bank account. Other money transfer services offer multiple ways for you to receive your money transfers.
- Bank transfers can be slower than others. For example, if you funded your transfer through a bank account, the transfer can take up to a week, if not more. This is mostly because of Wise’s process wherein money is initially deposited to Wise’s bank account receiving money, the conversion process after, then the delivery to the recipient’s bank account. For the UK, Germany, India, and Mexico, the average waiting time is about 3-4 business days. Still not very bad, but definitely not an immediate transfer option.
- US Phone customer support is only available by phone, from 10am – 3pm Central Time on Weekdays.
Revolut Pros
Transparency in exchange rates. It is possible to automatically convert the balance from one currency to another and without exchange fees (at the real exchange rate);
– The biggest savings in exchange rates are within the app itself. That is, imagine that you are going to travel, before withdrawing money you must convert the amount you want to withdraw, from euros to the currency of that country, for example, dollars. Only then should you withdraw from an ATM. In this case you will save a lot of money just by the exchange rate used;
– You can withdraw money without making a prior exchange on the app, as this is done automatically when needed. Of course, if the exchange rate has worsened in the meantime, it would have yielded more to make the exchange earlier, in the app. But, on the contrary, if the exchange rate is evolving favorably, the later it is done, the less it is spent (and the later it is possible when the card is passed);
– There is no charge for fees and commissions on payment transactions for purchases, national and international transfers, between different currencies;
– Make withdrawals at ATMs abroad without costs;
– Through the application you can lock and unblock the card immediately, in case of loss or theft;
– In case of loss or theft of the card during the trip, you can request a duplicate to the address where you are at the moment;
– Transfers between Revolut accounts are immediate;
Revolut Cons
– Loading the Revolut account via bank transfer can take up to 3 days and depending on your bank, it may have associated costs;
– In international bank transfers, money can take between two or three business days to be available;
– There are limits on withdrawal amounts, for non-payment of fees, with 2% charge on fees after the linits, see limits below:
| Overseas ATM Withdrawals | No fees up to £200/ month | No fees up to £200/month | No fees up to £400/month | No fees up to £800/month |
– Although it is not necessary to master English (as the company already offers a Portuguese version of the application), in case something goes wrong, you still have to be prepared to contact a customer support line, in English;
Final Thoughts Wise vs Revolut
Revolut vs Wise, with both of them giving you a lot of choices when it comes to handling your money, whether in your own currency or other currencies.
For travelers and freelancers like us, we choose Wise as our winner, while Revolut definitely is a good alternative, or having both cards are also good, depending on the features you want to have.
However, if you like using your digital bank or multicurrency account for sending and receiving payment for work, more access to currencies (Revolut has 28, Wise has over 50), low exchange rates, then Wise wins for us, but Revolut is a close second.
Hope you liked our review Wise vs Revolut and let us know if you have questions or comments!
About the Author: Ruben, co-founder of Gamintraveler.com since 2014, is a seasoned traveler from Spain who has explored over 100 countries since 2009. Known for his extensive travel adventures across South America, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Africa, Ruben combines his passion for adventurous yet sustainable living with his love for cycling, highlighted by his remarkable 5-month bicycle journey from Spain to Norway. He currently resides in Spain, where he continues to share his travel experiences alongside his partner, Rachel, and their son, Han.