Business is always changing and the financial services sector is always aiming to catch up with changes in society. As customers’ expectations change, businesses must be prepared to make changes also. In this article we look closer at Revolut developments and some information you should know as a user.
As costs go up, a lot of people start to look around and see what they can do to save some money. However, it looks like small; medium-sized businesses in Ireland may not have to worry about that because Revolut Business is on the rise. Is this a good thing for your business?
As many people already know Revolut is an online mobile banking app which is designed to cut down on the time spent travelling between countries and exchange currencies without any fees. It has become popular among Irish businesses for its fee-free transaction type. Statistics show that Revolut is now used as a method of payment by 71.8% of 20-25-year-old online shoppers.
If you’re an existing customer and are eligible to join Revolut Bank UAB, you’ll see a banner in your Revolut app home screen saying ‘Join Revolut Bank’. Tap the banner and follow the instructions on screen.
So what is Revolut and how does it affect how you do business?
Revolut offers you a prepaid debit card for chip, contactless and online payments as well as ATM withdrawals at home or abroad.
Online payments for services and goods have been on the rise during lockdowns and show no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Businesses that offer different payment options have more customers and can receive better reviews than those who don’t, but it is still a new and unfamiliar concept for many Irish businesses.
In Ireland, many businesses are seeing employees request for their salary to be transferred into a Revolut account. It comes with BIC and IBAN numbers.
However, with no physical presence (such as bank branches) or even cheques/cash-flow options, it limits the potential customer base in this particular sector and maintaining customer satisfaction can prove a difficult challenge on their own.
Revolut was granted a full banking licence by the European Central Bank (ECB) in December 2021. That said, Revolut doesn’t quite look like a traditional bank just yet. Current Irish Revolut customers are customers of Revolut Payments UAB and the intention is to over these customers the option to switch to Revolut Bank UAB in the first quarter of 2022. Until the banking licence is fully rolled out within Ireland customers’ money is still ring-fenced with large global banks in the EEA.
Since March 24th 2022, Revolut is now operating as a fully licenced bank in Ireland and funds of up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Lithuanian State company Deposit and Investment Insurance.
Many traditional banks have digital offerings that can be difficult for smaller businesses to use. Revolut is different because it has a significantly larger customer base. In addition, the app has an appeal because it’s similar to digital offerings of other traditional banks.
Another appealing point for businesses is Revolut’s foreign exchange features. You can exchange money in 30+ foreign currencies as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum and typically at more favourable rates than the traditional financial institutions.
So what are the costs then?
Revolut offers four types of business plans: Free, Grow, Scale and Enterprise. As the Enterprise plan is a customisable plan, we have analysed the main features of the other three plans below.
| Plan | Free | Grow (Most Popular) | Scale |
| Cost | €0/month | €25/month | €100/month |
| European Consumer Cards | 1% +€0.20 | 1% +€0.20 | 1% +€0.20 |
| All other Cards | 2.8% + €0.20 | 2.8% + €0.20 | 2.8% + €0.20 |
| Revolut Pay | 1% + €0.20 | 1% + €0.20 | 1% + €0.20 |
| Free metal cards£49/extra card | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Free Classic Cards | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free international payments€3/extra payment | 0 | 10 | 50 |
| Free local payments€0.02/ extra payment | 3 | 100 | 1,000 |
| FX at the interbank rate0.4% mark up/extra transaction | €0 | €10K | €50K |
| Priority 24/7 support | No | Yes | Yes |
| Accept payments on your website | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Request payments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Information source – accounting professionals.
Revolut App Features and Fees as a User
- Top up with a debit or credit card, or by making a bank transfer.
- View spending habits: your spending can be categorised by type of transaction, by retailer or by country.
- Send money to other Revolut users instantly.
- Control your card and account. You can lock and unlock your card in the Revolut app as well as set monthly spending limits.
- Save money. Revolut’s Vault feature lets you build up funds for a specific funding goal.
- Loans – with rates as low as 5.99% APR
- Deposit Accounts (Funds guarantee of €100,000)
- Buy shares
- you can buy US-listed shares on Revolut (Nasdaq and NYSE).
- Fees are €1 per trade (The first trade every month is free).
- Minimum trade $1
- Maximum trade $10000. (or 500 shares)
- Shareholding fee of 0.12% per year. (i.e $12 on $10,000 worth of shares) .
- Fractional Shares are available.
So what are the disadvantages of a business Revolut account?
- There is no cash or cheque deposits accepted here.
- Daily withdrawal limit of €3k
- Monthly withdrawal limit of €100k
- To put it in layman’s terms, there are transfer limits as to what you can send and receive in British Pounds.
- You don’t earn interest on money deposited – though given the current low, and even negative deposit interest rates with traditional banks, this is not a key issue
- Accounts on your website may be temporarily frozen due to suspicious activity.
So what are the advantages of a business Revolut account?
- You can top-up in multiple currencies and hold them all at the same time
- Accounting systems that integrate with currencies like Revolut allow you to integrate them without switching back and forth between accounts. This saves time, money and makes your life easier in general.
- An array of expanding extra features (e.g. crypto trading, disposable virtual cards)
- It’s always good to have great features as cryptocurrency. Crypto trading is key to many companies as they want to gain an advantage in the market. The option of creating team cards for specific employees gives them control of how their company’s funds are spent, which has a positive impact on their bottom line.
- Premium subscription options with handy perks (e.g. travel insurance, rewards)
- Fast and free transfers to over 33 countries
- The fees will be different depending on the day. Weekend rates are higher than weekly.
- Instant processing of all transfers
- You can set up recurring payments and direct debits.
- The application process is simple
- There are convenient mobile apps
- If your card is stolen or lost, you can swipe it to prevent anyone from making transactions.
Because Revolut is not an Irish institution – they are required by law to collect the Tax Identification Number of their customers living in Ireland. This is needed so that account information can be submitted to Revenue. Confirmation of a PPS number is generally required. If you are looking to stay ahead of your finances in your business, you should talk to a professional accounting and consulting service that keeps you ahead of your competitors in regard to financial advice.