Transferwise has fees, revolute doesn’t but the rate is lower. So Revolut still works out slightly cheaper for conversion USD to GBP than Transferwise. I’m going to check during the week to see what the difference is then.
Both companies are relatively young, with TransferWise being established in 2011 and Revolut in 2015. TransferWise is the larger company, handling huge volumes of remittance payments. Both of them can facilitate transfers of any size but if you are looking to lock in a rate, or a stop loss to hedge against future exchange rate fluctuations, neither of these companies currently offer those products. They also charge fees based on the size and type of transaction – further details are covered in the fee section below.
Promoting itself as the digital banking alternative, Revolut boasts the ability to transfer money – fee-free – in three minutes. They support free foreign exchange transactions in 25 currencies, with free ATM withdrawals. Furthermore, they have a fee-free Mastercard, which will enable you to spend in over 190 countries. Revolut can facilitate payments to over 120 countries and uses the interbank rate. They also have a lot of features available via their digital app, such as the ability to split bills and terminate a card, should you misplace it or fear it is stolen.
Transferwise is a peer-to-peer platform that matches buyers and sellers of currencies. Users can carry out single transactions or regular payments, though this is restricted to certain countries.
Revolut will let you open an account in seconds, without any proof of address or carrying out a credit check. Revolut will give you a UK current account and a European IBAN number. They offer two types of account. Their free Standard account includes the ability to transfer to 25 countries. For a fixed fee of £6.99 a month, you can get access to the Premium account, with additional extras such as free overseas medical insurance, an unlimited level of FX transactions and values, as well as the ability to withdraw £400 from an ATM and exclusive promotions. An additional new feature is the ability to purchase cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin.
TransferWise Features
Peer-to-peer platform
Nominal fees on transfers
Transfers completed within 1–4 days
Borderless accounts without overseas address requirement
Offers four currencies: AUD, EUR, GBP or USD
Single payment or repeat payment options
Provides rate information and fees prior to transfer via online calculator
Payments via debit card, Apple Pay, SWIFT transfers and bank transfers
Secure payments function available via TransferWise feature in Facebook Messenger
5-star Trustpilot rating from over 40,000 reviews
Uses mid-market rate supplied by Reuters
revolute Features
Provides UK current account number and European IBAN number
Manage your account online or via mobile app
Currency Mastercard can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs fee-free up to £200 (£400 for premium account holders), after which a 2% fee applies until the end of the month
Weekly transfer limits of £125,000
Interbank FX rates
Top up using EUR, GBP and USD and then transfer to anywhere in the world using card
Transfers through WhatsApp, SMS and email to holders of non-Revolut accounts
Free global money transfers
Card freeze functionality for added security
Self-destructing regenerating card feature
Buy and exchange cryptocurrencies
Vaults saving option
The pros and cons of using transferwise
PROS
Make transferring on the go simple, with their new TransferWise bot available through Facebook Messenger
Offers the ability to carry out batch payments to up to 1000 recipients – useful for regular payments to self-employed contractors or freelancers.
The main website is available in: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
To get bonus use link transferwise
CONS
Difficult to compare easily to other providers due to the fees, but does make them
transparent and details them all at the start, so there are no surprises
Cannot accept out bound payments from Hong Kong
Customers have voiced concerns about the specific point at which Transferwise verify your identity as this may not be your first transfer. This could impact your transfer timescales, so best to confirm directly with them if you do have an urgent, large transfer due.
The pros and cons of using revolute
PROS
Manage your account online or through the mobile app
Contact the customer service bot to answer your questions or direct your enquiry through the social media direct messaging channels
Fee free transactions
Easy to set up an account, you can start using it quickly, although payments are to be paid for using the card
Easy to transfer money back off your card into your bank account
Crypto currency offering
To get bonus use link : revolute
CONS
A young company who looks to be having teething problems as it tries to expand the business
Customer services are not available directly – it seems difficult to get hold of someone to report an issue
Uses the interbank rate for transactions at weekends, which misses out on any currency fluctuations
Not FCA regulated as a bank, so customers do not benefit from FSCS protection. They do hold clients money in segregated accounts, which means that you should be able to get your money back if anything were to happen as you rank above creditors. They have just applied for European Banking licence, so regulations may change in the future.