Revolut

Revolut is a financial technology company offering a mobile app for managing money, spending and transferring internationally, saving, investing and more. It serves a very large number of personal and business customers worldwide and is one of the most valuable fintech companies in Europe. It started with a simple proposition: a card and app for spending abroad at fair exchange rates, without the hidden fees banks charged for foreign transactions. That appealed strongly to travellers and international users, and Revolut expanded rapidly from there, adding features at a pace that earned it a reputation as a financial super-app. The app now covers a wide range of services: accounts holding and exchanging dozens of currencies, international transfers, debit cards including disposable virtual cards for online security, budgeting and spending analytics, savings vaults, stock and commodity trading, crypto trading, insurance, and in some markets credit products. Subscription tiers add higher limits, travel benefits, insurance and other perks. Revolut Business provides multi-currency accounts, cards for employees, expense management and payment acceptance for companies. Regulation varies by country. Revolut holds a banking licence in Europe through Lithuania, and it received a UK banking licence, initially with restrictions during a mobilisation period, after a long application process. The protection that applies to customer money depends on the entity and country serving the customer, so it is worth checking the terms where you live. The criticisms include customer service, particularly when accounts are frozen during security or compliance checks, and fees and limits on free plans for activities such as weekend currency exchange or high transfer volumes. Alternatives include Wise for transparent international transfers and multi-currency accounts; Monzo and Starling for UK digital banking; N26 for European digital banking; PayPal for online payments; Chime in the United States; and traditional banks for full-service relationships. Choose Revolut when you want an all-in-one app for multi-currency spending, transfers and managing money internationally.