Monese vs Revolut

Although operating under different licenses, Monese and Revolut are safe and secure options to hold your money. Both adhere to industry-standard security protocols such as segregated user accounts, HTTPS, and 3-D Secure card transactions.

Is Monese FSCS Protected?

Since Monese is an electronic money institution and not a bank, it partners with regulated banks to insure your funds through the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Revolut also does not have a bank license in the UK.

Is Monese a Bank?

Monese is not a bank but a finance app. Similarly, Revolut in the UK operates solely as an Electronic Money Institution.

Revolut ranked higher than Monese in our Trust & Credibility score partly because it's a much larger company than Monese, which meant it edged it out in our scoring process. Monese has around two million users and 400 employees, while Revolut has a much larger 16 million users and over 2,000 employees.

In the end, this makes Revolut the slightly more secure option of the two. Nevertheless, despite the differences, we're confident that both platforms offer high security to customers and that your deposits will be safe no matter whether you choose Monese or Revolut.

Monese and Revolut come with a range of financial services for users. Revolut offers a current account in many EU countries, while Monese is slightly more limited as it’s effectively a prepaid card that gives you multiple currency options and lets you send money overseas quickly and easily. That said, both are still great services and provide several interesting features and services which we'll explore below.

Account Experience

Both providers offer a range of features to make life easier. Both providers offer multi-currency balances, although Revolut has far more options in this area. Monese provides direct debits in GBP, while Revolut offers them in EUR. Both providers have financial services, including notifications, financial analysis, and budgeting. Revolut also offers savings “pots.”

If you lose your phone or card, both providers let you block and unblock your card and get back into the app by installing it on a new device. Both providers allow you to manage your account through their smartphone apps but don’t provide web interfaces to your money.

Debit Card

The cards offered by Monese and Revolut come with almost identical features. Both are Mastercard debit cards, and both offer contactless payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Note that in some countries, the Revolut debit card may be on the Visa network. 

Both providers offer elegant cards with a modern aesthetic. Additionally, both providers let you easily block your debit card from their mobile apps if your card is lost or stolen, and both also offer virtual cards.

Local Accounts Available in Specific Currencies:

Monese offers banking services in British pounds. Monese doesn’t require proof of residency, and there’s no need for a credit check, which makes them ideal if you’ve just moved to a country. Revolut offers more local currency options. Revolut can provide accounts in GBP, EUR, NOK and PLN, so if you’re from Poland or Norway, Revolut is a better choice. 

Monese Currencies vs Revolut Currencies

Monese provides account balances in GBP, EUR, and RON. Revolut offers balances in and exchanges to more than 30 currencies, including AED, AUD, BGN, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HRK, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, QAR, RON, RUB, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, and ZAR.

Other Account Features

Neither Monese nor Revolut provide interest on savings or offer overdrafts. Revolut does provide extra services like Pay Per Day travel insurance, automatic donations and rounding up your transactions.

Both Monese and Revolut are licensed as Electronic Money Institutions. This means that your money is kept segregated from their own accounts, and you would get your balance back if they went out of business. Revolut and Monese let you freeze and unfreeze cards via their apps if your card is lost or stolen. 

Topping up Your Account

Monese lets you top up with cash in the UK and via a bank transfer in the UK and Europe. Revolut allows you to top up your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card, which is more convenient, although your provider may charge you a fee if you top up with a card. 

Monese and Revolut offer a good range of features under their Standard plans. Neither charges you to open or hold an account, both allow you to send money internationally and both come with low-cost mobile apps. In general, Revolut wins in this area as they have lower overall fees, despite a relatively complex pricing system for foreign exchange.

Overall Service Quality

Both providers offer a wide range of services under their Standard plans. Monese and Revolut give you an account, a Mastercard debit card, international money transfers and a range of other services. Both have easy-to-use mobile apps that are popular with users and feature notifications, direct debits, budgeting, financial planning and multi-currency summaries.

Monese lets you open an account easily and instantly, you do not need proof of residency and there is no credit check. It's a great first current account for someone arriving in the UK or EEA. 

Revolut may charge a fee for faster transfers or to accounts that are not held with Revolut, whereas Monese does not.

International ATM Withdrawals

Both providers charge similar fees for international ATM withdrawals. With Revolut, the first £/€200 (or five total withdrawals) per month does not attract a fee, but you’ll be charged 2% of any amount withdrawn above that. With Monese, you'll be charged a £/€1.50 fee per withdrawal (at home and abroad) and a further 2% while abroad for currency conversion.

This makes Revolut the cheaper option to withdraw small amounts of cash while abroad, but they both become similarly expensive for larger (or more frequent) cash withdrawals.

Getting a Debit Card

Revolut and Monese provide debit cards to users. It can take up to nine working days to get a card from Revolut, while Monese says it will take five working days.

Monese charges £/€4.95 for card delivery, while Revolut normally charges a fee of €5.50/£4.99 to send you a debit card, but if you sign up through Monito, they will send you the card for free. Revolut will deliver your card within five business days, but you’ll need to pay a fee of €19.99.

Revolut vs Monese Exchange Rate

Monese has much simpler pricing for international money transfers than Revolut. They charge a flat, 2.5% fee on international money transfers, with a 3.5% charge for weekend transfers. The Classic Monese plan charges 0.5% while Premium charges zero margin.

Revolut’s pricing is more complex and depends on the currency, the amount you send, and if you’re exchanging currency during or outside market hours. Over the weekends, Revolut’s currency exchange service can be expensive. Revolut lets you hold up to 30 currencies and you can exchange money between them instantly.

Using your Debit Card Overseas

Using your debit card overseas will cost 2% per transaction with Monese, but with Revolut it will only start costing you after the first £/€1,000 you spend per month in a foreign currency, after which you'll be charged between 0.5% and 2% depending on the currencies being converted.

When it comes to customer satisfaction, Revolut takes the lead, as it has far more independent reviews and a higher rating than Monese.

Service Availability

Monese is available throughout the EEA, which is the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Revolut has wider availability, and you can get it in the European Economic Area (EEA), plus Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States.

Languages Supported

The breadth of service availability is also reflected in support languages. Monese offers English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Turkish, and Lithuanian services. Revolut provides services in more than 24 languages, although they have more limited customer support languages, available in English and Polish, Spanish, Japanese, French, Portuguese, Lithuanian, and German.

Number of Customers

Monese currently has around two million customers, while Revolut has more than 16 million. 

Revolut Reviews and Monese Reviews

Both providers receive good Trustpilot reviews for their services. Monese gets an average Trustpilot review score of 3.9/5 stars across over 25 thousand reviews. Revolut meanwhile has an excellent Trustpilot review score average of 4.4/5 stars across more than 100 thousand reviews.

Customer Support Hours

Monese offers support through email and call centres, although hours do vary by country. Revolut only provides live chat with support agents through the app, all day, every day.