Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
How safe/reliable is Revolut to use for receiving payments and transferring money?
Thread poster: Barrie John
Barrie John
Barrie John  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:51
German to English
Jan 14, 2020

Does anybody have much experience in using Revolut to receive ongoing payments for their work? Or is there a better account out there? I have read a bit about Transferwise, but they appear to charge more of a fee for transferring money.

My situation is as follows: I earn in EUR and exchange my money into GBP on a monthly basis. I currently have a bank account with one of the main UK banks and have a Euro account attached. I pay a fee every month for the current account, plus anothe
... See more
Does anybody have much experience in using Revolut to receive ongoing payments for their work? Or is there a better account out there? I have read a bit about Transferwise, but they appear to charge more of a fee for transferring money.

My situation is as follows: I earn in EUR and exchange my money into GBP on a monthly basis. I currently have a bank account with one of the main UK banks and have a Euro account attached. I pay a fee every month for the current account, plus another fee every 6 months for use of the Euro account. To top things off, I am then at the mercy of the relatively poor exchange rate offered by the bank. Quite simply, I am looking at the most cost-effective way of obtaining my money every month.
Any help/suggestions would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.
Collapse


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Danish to English
+ ...
Don't know Jan 15, 2020

I don't know about Revolut.

I was about to compare their fees with TransferWise, which I use, but to my dismay, I discovered that despite having based their entire business model on transparency and repeatedly trumpeting that fact, they have now decided to hide their fees. They are now essentially behaving like the banks when it comes to fee transparency.

For me, it’s a sign that the original fee level chosen by TransferWise is not sustainable and that they thus decid
... See more
I don't know about Revolut.

I was about to compare their fees with TransferWise, which I use, but to my dismay, I discovered that despite having based their entire business model on transparency and repeatedly trumpeting that fact, they have now decided to hide their fees. They are now essentially behaving like the banks when it comes to fee transparency.

For me, it’s a sign that the original fee level chosen by TransferWise is not sustainable and that they thus decided to increase their fees by stealth.

What I read about Revolut in their Wikipedia article seems a bit chaotic.
Collapse


 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Use business accounts (not personal) Jan 15, 2020

TransferWise business : https://transferwise.com/gb/business/pricing-and-coverage

The transfer fee is offered in three variants: low-cost transfer fee, fast transfer fee and easy transfer fee

Revolut Busine
... See more
TransferWise business : https://transferwise.com/gb/business/pricing-and-coverage

The transfer fee is offered in three variants: low-cost transfer fee, fast transfer fee and easy transfer fee

Revolut Business (check Freelance): https://www.revolut.com/en-GR/our-plans

Note: Revolut holds a European banking licence. It is now officially a (digital) bank (with all the protections related to this).

I suggest you use both. A basic business account if free on both and has no maintenance costs.

PS: For the UK, have you checked Starling's business offering? I see they offer a free Sole-trader account, and a Euro account for £2/month.

https://www.starlingbank.com/sole-trader-bank-account/
https://www.starlingbank.com/business-account/multi-currency/

[Edited at 2020-01-15 14:44 GMT]
Collapse


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:51
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Jean Jan 15, 2020

Jean Dimitriadis wrote:
TransferWise business : https://transferwise.com/gb/business/pricing-and-coverage
The transfer fee is offered in three variants: low-cost transfer fee, fast transfer fee and easy transfer fee


Actually, the variants that they offer depend on the originating currency. Click the "Show fee breakdown" dropdown to see the various options, and also the fee breakdown. It also shows the current currency conversion rate. It doesn't have a downloadable rate sheet, though -- you have to check the pricing page online each time (or each day) that you want to do a transfer.

Revolut Business (check Freelance): https://www.revolut.com/en-GR/our-plans


They say that their currency exchange rate markup is "0.4%", but they don't say which rate they use.


 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 10:51
French to English
+ ...
Transferwise rate Jan 15, 2020

Samuel Murray wrote:
They say that their currency exchange rate markup is "0.4%", but they don't say which rate they use.


They use the instantaneous mid-market rate, which fluctuates freely. What is most important is that they don't have a buy rate and a sell rate like regular banks do. The rate is the same both ways, plus 0.4% markup. To me, this is as transparent as it gets.


 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Interbank rate Jan 15, 2020

Revolut seems to use the interbank rate (to which an additional fee is applied during weekends) for currency conversions: https://blog.revolut.com/understanding-the-interbank-exchange-rate/

 
Marissa Aguayo Gavilano
Marissa Aguayo Gavilano  Identity Verified
Peru
English to Spanish
+ ...
Revolut for EUR, Transferwise for USD Jan 15, 2020

Barrie John wrote:


Does anybody have much experience in using Revolut to receive ongoing payments for their work? Or is there a better account out there? I have read a bit about Transferwise, but they appear to charge more of a fee for transferring money.

My situation is as follows: I earn in EUR and exchange my money into GBP on a monthly basis. I currently have a bank account with one of the main UK banks and have a Euro account attached. I pay a fee every month for the current account, plus another fee every 6 months for use of the Euro account. To top things off, I am then at the mercy of the relatively poor exchange rate offered by the bank. Quite simply, I am looking at the most cost-effective way of obtaining my money every month.
Any help/suggestions would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.


Hi, I'm in the UK and I can personally recommend you Revolut for payments in EUR. They use interbank rate (better than Transferwise) and no fee to send money to your GBP account. I mainly use Transferwise nowadays to receive payments in USD because doesn't offer the option to have your own account details in this currency.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Don't know Jan 16, 2020

I’ve never heard of Revolut (I’m in the Euro zone); some of my non-EU clients use Transferwise and they say that it is faster and cheaper than other payment methods.

 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Danish to English
+ ...
TransferWise Jan 16, 2020

TransferWise have moved to a very detailed and complex fee structure, but at least I managed to get them to give me the following information, which is what's relevant to me:

USD to EUR, 0.45%
GBP to EUR, 0.37%
EUR to GBP, 0.41%

based on the mid-market rate, updated every minute.

This is for conversion between TransferWise balances.

When I transfer from my TransferWise EUR balance to my euro bank account, there is a fee of EUR 0.63.


 
Barrie John
Barrie John  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:51
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your help! Jan 17, 2020

Thanks so much guys for all of your help/suggestions and taking the time to respond to my query; it is very much appreciated!

I am still not 100% sure of the best way to proceed. However, after conducting a bit more research and reading your comments, I find myself leaning towards a Revolut standard account together with a sole trader account from Starling bank (thanks for the pointer @Jean!).
My understanding is that
... See more
Thanks so much guys for all of your help/suggestions and taking the time to respond to my query; it is very much appreciated!

I am still not 100% sure of the best way to proceed. However, after conducting a bit more research and reading your comments, I find myself leaning towards a Revolut standard account together with a sole trader account from Starling bank (thanks for the pointer @Jean!).
My understanding is that currency transfers (EUR > GBP in my case) are free with Revolut (under £5000/month), while they entail a fee with both TransferWise (0.37% plus a fee to transfer into a bank account - thanks @Thomas) and Starling Bank (0.4%).

I have not, however, found definitive proof that Revolut do not charge a fee to transfer the money into a bank account (of the same currency). Perhaps this is something I could ask you to clarify @Marissa?
From what I have gathered, an example transfer with a standard Revolut account would be as follows:

- Receive payments in EUR (free of charge)
- Transfer EUR into GBP at the interbank rate (free of charge on weekdays)
- Transfer the GBP funds into a nominated bank account (free of charge)

This seems too good to be true, which is which I am trying to find out as much information as I can before proceeding. I may have got the wrong end of the stick, but that's how I currently see things. If anyone is aware of anything I may have overlooked/gotten incorrect, I would be very grateful for some pointers.

Thanks again!
Collapse


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Danish to English
+ ...
Revolut not free Jan 17, 2020

Barrie John wrote:

My understanding is that currency transfers (EUR > GBP in my case) are free with Revolut (under £5000/month)



According to the Revolut website, it is free to exchange currency if you pay for a monthly subscription, whereas if you don't pay for a subscription, there is a commission of 0.4% or 0,5% (the website says both), which is much the same as TransferWise's commission.

I also read somewhere that Revolut may add a surcharge for various types of transactions over the weekend. I'm not sure how this works in practice. TransferWise doesn't do that.

TransferWise's EUR transfer fee of EUR 0.63 would amount to 0.063% for a transfer of EUR 1,000.

You could avoid the transfer fee by getting a TransferWise charge card and spending directly from the account. They also support direct debit payments, at least for EUR accounts.

For the time being, I only use TransferWise to get paid in USD by domestic US wire transfer to avoid rip-off banking or PayPal fees. Revolut doesn’t seem to give you a US bank account number.


 
Jose Ruivo
Jose Ruivo  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Lucky you! Jan 18, 2020

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

For the time being, I only use TransferWise to get paid in USD by domestic US wire transfer to avoid rip-off
banking or PayPal fees. Revolut doesn’t seem to give you a US bank account number.


My clients in the US refuse to transfer money to a Transferwise account, can't understand why. End up being robbed by Paypal

Any alternative?

TIA,
José Ruivo


 
Barrie John
Barrie John  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:51
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Jan 20, 2020

Hi Thomas,

Thank you very much for your reply to my query. Again, it is really appreciated. Would you be able to point me in the direction where you found the information about the fee to exchange the currency?

Thomas T. Frost wrote:


According to the Revolut website, it is free to exchange currency if you pay for a monthly subscription, whereas if you don't pay for a subscription, there is a commission of 0.4% or 0,5% (the website says both), which is much the same as TransferWise's commission.


The only info I can find on the website for the Standard account states:

"Exchange in 30 fiat currencies up to £5,000 per month without any hidden fees"

and:

"If you exchange currencies on weekdays (Mon-Fri UTC) you will receive the interbank exchange rate without any markup on all currencies"

And when it comes to transferring the money to an account outside Revolut (e.g. withdrawing money into a current account), I can only find the following on the website:

"Payments to Bank Accounts outside the Revolut App
We'll let you know in the Revolut app if any charges apply, before you make the transfer."


Apologies if I have overlooked something, but it's causing a slight bit of confusion at the moment.
Thanks in advance for your help.


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Danish to English
+ ...
Here's what I found Jan 20, 2020

Yes it's a bit confusing. Here's what I found:

https://www.revolut.com/en-DE

'Transfer money abroad in 30 currencies with the interbank exchange rate, with a small 0.5% fee for anything above €6,000 each month. A flat mark-up on weekends and on certain currencies may apply'
<
... See more
Yes it's a bit confusing. Here's what I found:

https://www.revolut.com/en-DE

'Transfer money abroad in 30 currencies with the interbank exchange rate, with a small 0.5% fee for anything above €6,000 each month. A flat mark-up on weekends and on certain currencies may apply'

https://www.revolut.com/en-DE/transfer-money-abroad-with-the-interbank-exchange-rate

'Transfer up to €6,000 abroad with the interbank exchange rate each month, and we only add a small fee of 0.5% for anything above this amount.'

https://www.revolut.com/en-DE/our-pricing-plans

'STANDARD €0/m'
'Exchange in 30 fiat currencies up to €6,000 per month without any hidden fees'

https://www.revolut.com/en-DE/our-plans

(Business > Freelancer)

'FREE €0/m'

'Free local transfers: 5
€0.2 per transfer above free allowance'

'Free international transfers: 0
€3 per transfer above free allowance'

'Allowance of FX at the real rate: €0
0.4% markup on FX above free allowance'

'PROFESSIONAL €7/m'

'Free local transfers: 20
€0.2 per transfer above free allowance'

'Free international transfers: 5
€3 per transfer above free allowance'

'Allowance of FX at the real rate: €5k
0.4% markup on FX above free allowance'

As far as I can see, you need to pay €7 a month to avoid the 0.4% markup below €5,000.

Their general statements claiming there is no fee up to €6,000 seems a bit misleading and may only apply to personal accounts.
Collapse


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:51
Danish to English
+ ...
Telegraph: Revolut customers locked out of accounts 'for weeks' Jan 21, 2020

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal-banking/current-accounts/revolut-customers-locked-accounts-weeks/

There's a paywall, but it's possible to read one free Premium article per week by registering.

In this case, the readers' comments are just as interesting as the article, and they are not behind a paywall.... See more
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/personal-banking/current-accounts/revolut-customers-locked-accounts-weeks/

There's a paywall, but it's possible to read one free Premium article per week by registering.

In this case, the readers' comments are just as interesting as the article, and they are not behind a paywall.

One reader's account was locked because she had denounced a scamming company. A recurring theme is that when an account is locked, nobody replies to inquiries and it drags out for months without any information.

'Chaotic', as I wrote at the beginning of this thread.

I'll give Revolut a miss. I've had no such trouble with TransferWise.
Collapse


Andrew Morris
 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

How safe/reliable is Revolut to use for receiving payments and transferring money?







Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »
Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »