Revolut Business Review: Fees, Exchange Rates, Functionalities, and Monito's Verdict

Innovative banking and currency exchange business Revolut is constantly evolving and expanding its portfolio. Having been granted a European Banking Licence in 2018, the fintech is now waiting to be granted a banking licence in the UK, which it hopes will allow it to grow even further.

Revolut has more than 15 million personal customers and has accrued over 500,000 business users since opening its virtual doors in 2015. Here, we take a closer look at exactly what Revolut offers to its business customers. 

What Monito Likes About Revolut Business

• Advanced mobile app with a range of features;
• Competitive exchange rates;
• Option to fix future foreign exchange rates online;
• Quick and easy to open an account;
• Ability to integrate with business software packages.

What Monito Dislikes About Revolut Business

• No option to pay in cash or cheques;
• Daily withdrawal limit of £3,000.00 and monthly limit of £100,000.00;
• 2.00% cash withdrawal fee;
• No overdraft facility;
• Plan costs can be high.

Watch Monito's Video Review of Revolut Business:

Who is Revolut Business For?

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The Revolut Business account is available to companies and self-employed professionals registered in and with a physical presence within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. To register for a business account, applicants will need to provide details such as their name and address, plus a photo of their ID and a selfie. A short description of what the business does and where will also be required.

Those opening a Corporate account will also need to provide basic incorporation details such as a registered name, legal form, address of registration, trading name, registration date and incorporation number, along with details about the shareholders and directors of the company. Find out more here. 

Companies will need to open their account under their registered business name, while sole-traders will need to open their account in their own name.

Currently, Revolut Business is not able to accept applications from the following:

• Associations;
• Charities;
• Funds such as venture capital funds;
• Public sector companies;
• Trusts;
• SPVs;
• Foundations;
• Interest on lawyers trust accounts;
• Co-operatives.

What Does Revolut Offer For Businesses?

Perhaps Revolut Business' biggest attraction is its competitive cross-border payment functionalities. Its multi-currency account enables businesses to hold money in more than 28 currencies, convert at the interbank or mid-market exchange rate and easily make payments across the globe. 

Businesses are able to open as many accounts as they require, allowing them to create accounts for each team member or client or office. What’s more, companies can view and control every payment and transfer made by their team, plus set spending limits for each team member. 

As well as being able to link up your high-street bank accounts, you can distribute company cards (physical or virtual) to your team which can be used in an impressive 150 currencies. Cards can be blocked or frozen if needed and again, spending limits can be set.

In November 2020, Revolut also unveiled a new feature allowing UK businesses to receive customers’ online card payments directly into their account via payment requests. As a result, business owners can process one-off payments without the need to set up an online store or share account details. All that’s required is a payment link sent via text or email. 

UK and EEA payments are charged at 1.30%, while all other payments are charged at 2.80% (business customers will also get an allowance of free payments in their payment plan as explained later). 

What is the Revolut Business Account Pricing?

Revolut Business offers a variety of pricing plans depending on whether you are a company or a sole trader/freelancer. You can choose to switch between these plans as you see fit, giving you flexibility as your company grows and your business needs change. 

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The plans are broken down as follows for company plans:

Free 

With no monthly fee, this is the most basic pricing plan and, as you might expect, the most limited. Offering no free monthly allowance for international payments, foreign exchange, or card payments, it’s only suitable for businesses that don’t tend to trade abroad. Free local payments are capped at five per month and there’s no priority 24/7 support. Each contactless Metal card will set you back £49. 

Grow

At £25 per month, the Grow plan is the most popular choice for companies and offers:

• 10 free international payments;
• 100 free local payments;
• £10,000.00 allowance* of foreign exchange at the interbank exchange rate;
• £2,000.00 allowance of free UK and EEA consumer card payment acceptance;
• Priority 24/7 support;
• 1 free Metal card.

Scale

The next step up, the Scale plan is ideal for startups and costs £100 a month and offers:

• 50 free international payments;
• 1,000 free local payments;
• £50,000.00 allowance of foreign exchange at the interbank exchange rate;
• £9,000.00 allowance of free UK and EEA consumer card payment acceptance;
• Priority 24/7 support;
• 2 free Metal cards.

Enterprise

This is the most comprehensive plan available and can be tailored to your particular business. Because of this, you’ll need to get in touch with Revolut to talk through the details and find out how much it will cost your individual business as well as what allowances you’ll get.

The Grow, Scale and Enterprise plans also offer tailored rewards and discounts, payment approval and bulk payment options. 

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Below is the breakdown for freelancer plans: 

Free plan

Exactly the same as the company free plan, this offers five free local payments and little else. However, if you’re a sole trader looking for a straightforward business account, with no need to trade overseas, this could suit you perfectly. 

Professional

At an affordable £7.00 a month, the Professional plan is the most popular option for freelancers and offers:

• 5 free international payments;
• 20 free local payments;
• £5,000.00 allowance of foreign exchange at the interbank exchange rate;
• £500 allowance of free UK and EEA consumer card payment acceptance;
• Priority 24/7 support;
• No free Metal cards.

Ultimate

If you’re happy to pay £25.00 a month, you can take advantage of the following:

• 10 free international payments;
• 100 free local payments;
• £10,000.00 allowance of foreign exchange at the interbank exchange rate;
• £2,000.00 allowance of free UK and EEA consumer card payment acceptance;
• Priority 24/7 support;
• 1 free Metal card.

The Professional and Ultimate plans also offer tailored offers and discounts, payment approval and bulk payment options. 

Any transactions that fall outside of your monthly allowances for any of the above plans, will be charged as follows:

Exchange Rates

Revolut Business' exchange rates are based on the mid-market exchange rate. This is the base rate used by large banks to transfer currencies and it typically beats the consumer rate offered by banks by around 3.00% to 5.00%.

For less liquid currencies such as THB, RUB, UAH and TRY, a 1.00% markup applies on the exchange rate. There are no markups or fees for all other currencies, providing the foreign exchanges fall within your monthly plan allowance. Otherwise, a 0.4% markup will apply.

Things are a little different on the weekends, when a 0.50% markup applies to major currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NZD, CHF, JPY, SEK, HKD, NOK, SGD, DKK, PLN and CZK. A 1.00% markup applies to all other currencies, meaning that over the weekend THB, RUB, UAH and TRY have a 2% markup.

What makes Revolut’s service unique, however, is its FX Forwards feature. Allowing customers to book a contract via the app in a combination of GBP, USD and EUR up to three months in advance, it attracts a flat fee of 0.80%. This allows business owners who regularly trade internationally to lock in future exchange rates and thus minimise the risk from market movement. 

* Note that inbound local and international transfers in GBP, USD, EUR and CHF will not be counted towards your free allowance.

What Other Features Are Available?

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A round-up of the top features offered by Revolut Business can be found below:

• Free instant payments between Revolut Business and Personal accounts in more than 30 countries across the globe;
• Ability to track expenses in real-time with the option to digitally upload receipts and send automatic notifications to remind the team to submit receipts after each transaction;
• Automated bookkeeping tools;
• Ability to integrate with business software packages such as Xero, Slack. Clear Books, Sage, QuickBooks and more;
• Revolut’s Business API enables companies to make instant, automatic, trigger-based payments.

How Do Customers Rate Revolut Business?

Overall, Revolut Business scores highly on the Trustpilot review platform, earning a healthy 4.3 out of 5 stars from more than 87 thousand reviews. Customers praise the efficient application process, easy-to-use app, ability to exchange currency “in seconds”, competitive exchange rates and speedy money transfers. 

On the flip side, the negative feedback tends to centre around accounts being blocked and slow customer service responses.

Credibility and Security

Revolut is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which means it must safeguard funds as per FCA requirements, the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Customer funds are stored in a segregated account with Barclays and Lloyds and, in the event of an insolvency, users will be able to claim funds from this segregated account. Such claims will be paid above all other creditors. 

Revolut applied for a UK banking licence in early 2021 and once this has been granted, it will be able to offer FSCS protection. All card transactions are processed by the MasterCard or Visa network and are protected by MasterCard or Visa rules.

Revolut’s head office is in London, but it has offices across Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and beyond.

Is Revolut Business Right For You?

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It’ll come as no surprise that the answer to this question is “it depends”. Ultimately, it boils down to what you want from a business account. 

If you’re looking to trade regularly abroad, Revolut Business is certainly worth considering, thanks to its competitive exchange rates and ability to lock in rates in advance. The app also comes packed with innovative features, helping you to stay on top of your bookkeeping and manage your invoices.

However, while all of these are major plus points, it loses points for not allowing customers to pay in cash and cheques. Overall costs can also work out to be fairly high, particularly when compared to competitors such as Starling Bank and Monese. 

See our comparison chart below to get a good sense of what Revolut Business has to offer against other digital business bank accounts: