Revolut is an app-based banking brand with a range of personal e-money accounts. In July 2024, it finally got authorisation to become a bank, but isn’t operating as one yet. The app has a number of innovative features, such as allowing you to send and receive money without entering account details and organise your subscriptions into one place so you can easily track your spending on them. It also offers benefits for when you’re travelling.
If you’re a small business, take a look at our Revolut Business review to find out more about that account, and if you’re looking for banking app for your child you should read our Revolut <18 review.
There’s not a huge difference between the Standard Revolut plan and the Plus plan that charges a monthly fee of £3.99. Unless you’re regularly exchanging currency and need a monthly fee-free currency exchange limit of £3,000 versus the £1,000 you’ll get with the free plan, the monthly fee is unlikely to be worth it.
Cashback on accommodation is 3% for both plans, and interest paid on savings is also the same for both (but you can get much better rates elsewhere). Other features of the Plus plan include a personalised card (not really worth the monthly fee) and customer support through the app.
The Premium plan at £7.99 a month, or £80 a year, has more to offer, but again, this is really only worth it if you’re a regular traveller or often send money abroad. You’ll get a 20% discount on international transfer fees, a higher fee-free ATM withdrawal limit of £400 a month and unlimited fee-free currency exchange on weekdays.
The higher 5% cashback rate on accommodation bookings, discounted airport lounge access and insurance cover (global medical, winter sports, delayed flight and lost luggage) that’s included with the plan is pretty decent. But you’ll need to ask yourself whether you really need airport lounge access and how often you’ll book accommodation through Revolut Stays.
Realistically, you could also buy a travel insurance policy for a lot less. According to the ABI, the average single trip travel insurance premium is £40 for someone aged 36-40.
The Metal plan takes it to the next level, with higher withdrawal limits (£800 a month), a 40% discount on international transfer fees and up to 10% cashback on accommodation bookings. You’ll also get car hire excess insurance and personal liability insurance on top of global medical, winter sports, and delayed flight and lost luggage cover. But unless you travel several times a year, paying £14.99 a month is unlikely to be worth it.
I certainly wouldn’t pay £45 a month for the Ultra plan (and this price is only an introductory offer). You don’t get a huge amount more with this plan than you get with the Metal plan. Key differences include unlimited airport lounge access and trip and event cancellation insurance, plus a higher cash withdrawal limit and a 3GB global data eSim plan per month. But personally, I don’t think these features are worth £540 a year.
The app is simple, easy to navigate and streamlined. With Revolut you can:
Revolut’s app has so many different areas to explore. There’s not only its banking account, but also the opportunity to invest and its lifestyle rewards. Personally, I keep it simple and just use Revolut when I’m travelling abroad or booking accommodation for my holiday and paying in a different currency.
While the app has been designed to simplify transactions, I sometimes struggle to work out exactly how to make a basic transaction like sending a payment. The interface has been simplified so much that the steps aren’t necessarily intuitive. My experience with Revolut’s customer service has been very positive though. I received an instant response when I questioned a transaction that I didn’t recognise on my account.
Revolut has 5 tiers: Standard, Plus, Premium, Metal and Ultra. This review covers the Standard offering, which is free. We’ve also reviewed Premium, Metal, Ultra and Revolut Plus – these essentially offer more features and benefits in return for paying a monthly fee.
The Standard Revolut account comes with a few fees:
A bit more on the weekend markup: keep in mind that overseas card payments, international ATM withdrawals and money transfers sent abroad all imply a currency exchange, so the weekend markup applies in all these cases. There’s an easy way around it though: if you know you’ll be travelling or sending money abroad over the weekend, exchange the currency in advance on a weekday and you’ll avoid the fee. This will be possible with all the currencies that Revolut lets you hold.
And a note on “fair usage”: Revolut’s free Standard account comes with a fair usage limit of £1,000 per month for currency exchange transactions – which again applies to overseas card payments, international ATM withdrawals and money transfers sent abroad. After that, a 1% fee applies (in addition to any 1% weekend markup).
Yes you can. One of Revolut’s most appealing features is that it lets you spend fee-free (on weekdays) at the interbank exchange rate in multiple currencies.
When you’re spending abroad, you typically get hit with transaction fees or hidden charges. That’s because most financial institutions will either charge you extra fees to use your card abroad, or they change money at a less competitive rate, or both.
Revolut doesn’t do that, which is why it’s popular with those who have a global lifestyle. Using it abroad is much like using it in the UK. However, don’t forget the weekend markup and the £1,000 per month free limit on currency exchanges (both outlined above), plus the fact that free ATM withdrawals are limited to £200 a month – after which you’ll be charged a 2% fee, whether you’re in the UK or abroad. Learn more about using Revolut abroad.
Despite not being a bank yet, Revolut is regulated by the FCA as an institution that deals in electronic money and has to hold all client funds in a “segregated account” at a licensed UK bank. This means that users’ money is kept separate from Revolut’s finances and that Revolut cannot invest it. So, even if something were to happen to Revolut as a company, your money couldn’t be used to pay off its debts. Technically, this means Revolut is not a current account but an e-money account.
However, until it officially becomes a bank, funds held with Revolut aren’t covered by the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme), which protects deposits up to a maximum of £85,000 in the event a bank goes bust. The exception to this is Revolut’s “Saving Vaults” – even though these interest-earning savings pots are managed through the Revolut app, the customer funds themselves are deposited at licensed UK banks which have partnered with Revolut to provide savings products.
When it comes to security, Revolut’s smartphone app is protected by a password or fingerprint ID. You can also immediately freeze or unfreeze your card in the app if it’s been misplaced, lost or stolen. Further control can be added by turning online, ATM and contactless payments on or off.
Chatham
The main feature I went for (when I chose Revolut) was getting paid earlier. The Early Salary feature helps, especially in the build-up to payday, and ensures funds are in my account so money can be sorted before direct debits are taken the next day.
If there's one thing you'd tell a friend who's thinking of getting this, what would it be? That it’s easy to use and there’s an option to get paid (a day) earlier.
In our independent 2024 customer satisfaction survey, 95% of Revolut’s users said they’d recommend the brand to a friend. Customers highlighted the e-money account service’s excellent customer services and personalisable in-app features. However, some cite that Revolut’s rates could be more competitive. Here’s what some of those Revolut customers had to say:
“The app is easy to use and so I can check my money whenever I need to.”
“There is a chat function you can use if you ever need help or information. I’ve used it a few times and any problems have always been solved quickly.”
“I spend a lot of time working abroad and it fits my needs.”
On the Apple App Store, Revolut is rated 4.7 out of 5 stars from over 41,000 reviews. On the Google Play Store, Revolut is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars, from 2.6 million reviews (February 2024).
Revolut is a great account for travelling as it’s packed with features such as fee-free currency exchange, airport lounge passes, travel insurance and cashback on certain purchase types. As it’s app-based, it has functionality you won’t see with other accounts. It also has a range of other innovative features such as the ability to set up automatic currency exchanges.
Fee-free spending abroad isn’t as unique as it used to be though. Other challengers, such as Starling and Monzo, also offer fee-free card payments abroad, and unlike Revolut, these providers also have a full UK banking licence.
But if you’re looking for a range of features, then Revolut is tough to beat – you won’t find the international options, share trading or auto-exchange in the same place pretty much anywhere else. If you need a combination of those features, Revolut is probably your best bet. Get started by visiting Revolut's website and downloading the app.
Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.
To find out more, read our full methodology.
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