Revolut has proven itself to be a more than useful financial app. But is the fintech's current account up to the challenge of meeting the needs of everyday banking customers? We decided to investigate.
In 2022 Revolut officially became a bona fide bank in Ireland after it was granted a banking licence from the Lithuanian Central Bank.
And in 2023, Revolut moved all its customers over to an Irish IBAN, meaning users should no longer have issues setting up standing orders and direct debits or getting paid etc with a Revolut bank account.
But does this make Revolut a good option for all your day-to-day banking?
We decided to take a look at the main things consumers should be aware of before moving permanently to Revolut.
Branches
Revolut is a fintech, or an online-only bank, which means not only does it not have an extensive branch network, it doesn’t even have a single physical branch in the entire country; all a customer’s banking must be conducted online via its mobile app.
This may pose a problem for people for two main reasons.
Firstly, many people enjoy dealing with a teller in a branch, not least for the personal experience it provides, but also, should anything go wrong, there’s a human there to discuss things and get it sorted for you eventually. There’s no such thing with Revolut.
The second reason is that bank branches provide customers who deal in cash the option of making a deposit, whereas Revolut doesn't offer this. But more on the cash point shortly.
Generally speaking, if you don’t visit a bank branch more than once a month (for whatever reason), having a Revolut account might work for you as your regular day-to-day account. But there are of course other points to consider…
Verdict: If you don’t need a branch, Revolut might be for you.
Cash
As alluded to above, online-only banks such as Revolut don’t exactly go hand-in-hand with those who deal frequently in cash, unless of course you have a premium account, but these still put a limit on how much money you can withdraw.
For a start, there’s no way of depositing any cash into your account because, as mentioned above, Revolut has no bank branches. For example, if you have €50, the only way to deposit this would be to ask a friend to transfer you money and for you to give them the cash you have. This, of course, is quite impractical for day-to-day banking purposes.
There is also the cash withdrawal element to consider. Each Revolut plan allows for a certain amount of cash to be withdrawn from ATMs per month before a 2% fee on all funds over that amount is charged, with a minimum fee of €1 per withdrawal being levied.
Here’s a look at how much customers are allowed to withdraw fee-free each month:
- Standard account - up to €200 (or five ATM withdrawals, whichever comes first)
- Plus - up to €200
- Premium - up to €400
- Metal - up to €800
- Ultra - up to €2,000
As you can see, the only plan that would really benefit customers who use quite a bit of cash is the Metal or Ultra plans, and the Metal plan comes with a subscription fee of €15.99 per month. For Ultra it's €55!
In short, Revolut can be prohibitively expensive for customers who deal primarily in cash, especially if you know you will breach the above limits. And with the added inconvenience of not being able to make cash lodgements, this is something to weigh up before making it your permanent account.
However, for the salaried individual who gets paid directly into their account via an employer, this likely won’t pose too much of a problem, especially if your main purchases are either online or using your card.
Verdict: Revolut is not a current account for those who like to use a lot of cash.
Customer service
Like any other bank or business, Revolut provides customer service for those experiencing an issue with their account or for those who simply have a query.
The main difference, surprise, surprise, is that Revolut’s customer service is all carried out online, mainly via its in-app chat function. However, customers can also send an email to its customer service address to try get an issue resolved.
As it has no branches, Revolut customers won’t be able to meet an agent in person should they need help, but will rather have to go in-app to discuss an issue.
For some people, this won’t be a problem. However, it might be a deterrent to those who prefer to at least hear someone’s voice over the phone should they need an issue resolved immediately - which is more than understandable. It's also usually far easier to resolve a complaint or a problem in person or over the phone than by typing.
Revolut’s in-app chat is 24-hours and runs from Monday to Sunday too. So if you were worried about an issue arising on a weekend, a customer service agent should be on hand to help.
What’s more, customers with a Plus, Premium, Metal or Ultra plan benefit from priority customer service. So if you’re willing to pay you won’t be waiting as long should you need help with anything.
An issue to flag however is around customers getting locked out of their accounts. This usually happens if Revolut suspects fraud on the account. Although rare, as Revolut has gotten more and more popular (it now has almost 3 million customers in Ireland alone) it’s becoming more of an issue.
Increasingly strict anti-money laundering legislation and big fines for companies that breach it means online banks in particular often take a heavy-handed approach to even the slightest suspicion of fraud. The fact that online banks usually use artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor accounts, as opposed to real people, means legitimate accounts can sometimes get incorrectly flagged.
In addition, under money laundering laws, if suspicious activities are being investigated, bank staff are not allowed to tell customers why they have frozen their account, which can leave many frustrated, as they don’t know what to do to regain access.
Verdict: Fine for the average customer, but perhaps not if you prefer a more hands-on, in-person approach to customer service.
Payments
It's easy to set up and amend direct debits and standing orders in the Revolut app. And now that Revolut customers all have an Irish IBAN, you shouldn't have any difficulty getting anyone to accept your payment details.
Many banks charge for direct debits and standing orders but Revolut doesn't charge for either.
Revolut customers are issued with a standard Visa debit card or Mastercard, depending on the type of account you sign up for (paid or unpaid). So the same as any other standard bank account.
With your debit card you will be able to make purchases easily in-store or online.
And because Revolut is a fintech, it also allows you to create temporary virtual cards to make purchases safely online, which are then destroyed immediately after use so they can’t be linked to your bank account.
And if you're travelling abroad to a non-eurozone country, each Revolut plan allows you to make payments free of foreign exchange fees before a small 0.5% charge is added. For the average customer however, Revolut’s standard account should be more than enough.
Verdict: Revolut customers will have no issue setting up or making payments with their card.
Transferring Money
Revolut makes sending money to bank accounts, both domestic and foreign, very straightforward - perhaps more so than traditional banks because it can all be conducted via the Revolut mobile app.
For domestic payments you can choose to either send money directly and instantly to a Revolut account, or to another bank by simply inputting the relevant bank details in the ‘transfer’ section of the app.
International payments can be done equally as quickly, but like any other bank, Revolut charges a fee for doing so, albeit comparably lower because it uses the interbank exchange rate.
Verdict: Customers should have no issue sending money to other accounts.
Loans and overdrafts
For those who like to do all their banking with one provider, Revolut might not be for you unfortunately.
Although Revolut now offers great value personal loans and a credit card, it doesn't offer an overdraft facility or mortgages for example. At least not yet anyway. And it only offers loans up to €30,000. So if you need to borrow a very large sum to undertake a deep home retrofit for example, you might need to go elsewhere.
Verdict: Irish banking providers might better suit those looking for supplementary banking products and services.
Overall verdict
There days there aren't too many real barriers preventing consumers from using Revolut as their main current account, apart from maybe taking the plunge itself. Especially now that Revolut offers an Irish IBAN.
What matters most are your own banking preferences and what services you require to carry out your day-to-day banking.
So before switching, think about whether you use cash a lot, the type of customer service that's important to you, and whether or not most of your banking is conducted online.
But if you don’t use a lot of cash, are happy to use an app for all your banking needs, then a move to Revolut might be right for you. And you could save a good bit of money on fees.
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