Revolut VS TransferWise for Business
For many businesses or freelancers still using traditional high street banks – every time you do anything that involves a different currency a whole bunch of fees are taken out.
Here is how old school banking makes lots of money: (knowing this is important, so you know what is good!)
- Sell something overseas and it automatically get converted to your currency after currency exchange fees and transaction fees are removed
- Buy something in a different currency and the cost automatically get converted from your currency after currency exchange fees and transaction fees are removed
- Using ATMs overseas (either you or your employees)
- Money transfers between different currencies
Although simplified, these costs and fees can amount to 2-3% in additional fees (typically but often more) on each transaction you don’t need to pay.
And if your business is selling and buying in different currencies then it could be as much as 6% that gets lost in the shuffle.
There is a better way!
Revolut and TransferWise are both leaders when it comes to managing multiple currencies through the use of online tools that enable you to better manage different currencies, accept payments in different currencies and pay for things – all with minimal and much more transparent fees.
These services often include prepaid cards that you and you employees can use. In addition there are user friendly ways to track expenses and income as well as work with your third party accounting software.
Are they perfect?
No, in fact in some cases there are better options and we will highlight these.
However they do go a long way in helping your business and individuals to compete worldwide and we believe they can be great for business.
So which one is better for you?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Here is a comparison:
Jump Links
- Revolut VS TransferWise (Business) at a Glance
- Revolut Business Features
- TransferWise Business Features
- Who Can Get One and Where Can You Use It?
- Costs and Fees
- Currencies
- Ways to Send Money
- Receiving Money
- Cards
- Perks
- Final Verdict
Revolut VS TransferWise (Business) at a Glance
Both Revolut and TransferWise have special service packages for businesses with features designed specifically to help businesses carrying out overseas financial transactions.
Revolut Business Features
- A global business current account for easy international payments, with prepaid business cards and an Open API (wikipedia)
- Exchange and receive 30 fiat currencies without any hidden fees
- Spend in 150 currencies at the interbank rate
- Transfer money to any Revolut account (personal or business) instantly and for free
- Low transfer fees when you make payments to businesses anywhere in the world
- Bulk payments (up to 1000 in one go), scheduled payments
- Prepaid corporate cards let you track expenses via dashboard
- Can connect and integrate with other software
- Open API lets you seamlessly integrate your Revolut account into your workflow.
See the latest features in your country (opens a new tab, to keep reading)
TransferWise Business Features
- Pay invoices, handle payroll and buy inventory with the real exchange rate in over 40 currencies
- You can send money to 70+ countries
- Get UK, Eurozone, New Zealand, Australian, and US bank details without a local address
- TransferWise Business Mastercard enables you to pay business expenses, make purchases and spend online all over the world
- Open enables API to automate payments and connect business tools
- Make multiple payments in one go
See the latest features in your country (opens a new tab, to keep reading)
Who Can Get One and Where Can You Use It?
Revolut | TransferWise |
| Revolut for Business is currently available for companies registered in and with a physical presence within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. Revolut for Business is available for the following types of business:
It is not available for:
| With TransferWise it is a two step process.
1) TransferWise borderless accounts can be opened from anywhere. However, there are some countries and US states that cannot open a borderless account. You can find the list here. 2) An up to date list of countries where you can get a TransferWise Debit Mastercard is available to Borderless account holders can be found here. The accounts are available for all types of businesses. With the borderless account, you can get:
You can hold and manage money in more than 40 currencies. |
If you in Europe and you want similar services (from a registered bank) you might also like to consider N26 (review) and Monzo (review).
Costs and Fees
Revolut | TransferWise |
| You can open an account in your business name for free. However, there are other pricing plans available if you are looking to make bigger transactions and need more features. Revolut business pricing plans are:
Click for the latest prices in your country. *£0.2 per local transfer above free allowance | Creating your Business account on TransferWise is free.
Click for the latest prices in your country. |
In the nutshell:
| |
Currencies
TransferWise lets you hold 40 currencies while Revolut lets you hold 28.
Revolut | TransferWise |
| It supports 28 currencies for inbound transfers, outbound transfers and currency exchanges including USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NZD, CHF, JPY, SEK, HKD, NOK, SGD, DKK, PLN, CZK, THB, RUB, UAH, TRY, Thai Baht, Russian Rubbles, Ukrainian Hryvnia, and Turkish Lira | To get paid you get local bank account numbers for five currencies – USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, and NZD. You can hold and manage money in more than 40 currencies. You can send money to more than 50 countries, which covers almost all the currencies. |
| In the nutshell: TransferWise business account provides more currency coverage compared to Revolut. TransferWise also enables you to get paid as if you had a bank account in five currencies – USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, and NZD. Revolut enables you to get paid in GBP or EUR. | |
Ways to Send Money
Revolut | TransferWise |
| Revolut allows you to send money either to another Revolut user or to a bank. In the first circumstance, you can send money from the app to any Revolut user by simply saving their phone number on your device and selecting the right recipient when making the transfer. Sending money to a bank account is similar to sending money from any mobile banking app; simple and intuitive. Revolut to Revolut transfers are instant. Bank transfers within the UK usually take minutes. In the rest of the world, you can expect the recipient to receive the money in less than a day, although in some cases it can take a few days. | With TransferWise, you can send money either from your bank account (paying with a credit/debit card or bank/SWIFT transfer) or send money deposited in your Borderless account, by setting up a transfer. It may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days for the recipient to receive the money. |
| In the nutshell: Revolut gives you various possibilities to send money, and the transfers can be quicker than TransferWise, but TransferWise supports more currencies for international transfers and the core business for TransferWise in money transfers which can have advantages in cost and support if something goes wrong (especially when 3rd party banks are involved). If you making significant numbers of money transfers or large amounts, we would recommend using a bank-to-bank specialist money transfer company. | |
Receiving Money
Revolut | TransferWise |
| Revolut offers its users local bank details in GBP and EUR, as well as SWIFT accounts for other 28 currencies. If you exceed your plan’s allowance for local or international transfers, you will be charged for receiving funds. For each local transfer you send or receive above your plans allowance, you will be charged £0.2 per transfer. As for international transfers above your allowance, you will be charged £3 per transfer.
| Through its Borderless account (review), TransferWise gives local bank account details in GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, and USD, enabling you to receive money from over 50 countries for free. |
| In the nutshell: TransferWise offers more bank accounts, and receiving transfers is free regardless of how much money you receive, except for the USD. For USD, you have a limit of $250,000 per transaction and per day, and 1,000,000 limit per year. | |
Cards
Revolut | TransferWise |
You can order two physical cards per team member. The first card you order per employee is delivered at no cost. You will be charged a £4.99 delivery fee for Standard delivery for any subsequent card that you order. Each card is linked to at least one account which means the money is drawn directly from this account when the card is used. These cards can be managed from app. In Revolut for Business, virtual cards are not available to particular users but only to companies. Therefore, you can’t manage them through the app. | The TransferWise card is currently available for people and businesses with a borderless account in the UK, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and most of the EEA, and people with a borderless account in the US. You need a minimum of 20 GBP to your balance if you’re in the UK or EEA, or charge a small fee for card delivery. The TransferWise Mastercard is linked to the Borderless account. You can use it to make payments and withdraw money wherever Mastercard is accepted. The card is enabled for contactless payments. TransferWise applies a commission between 0.35 and 1% when you convert your money from one currency to another at the mid-market rate. |
| In the nutshell: Revolut offers both virtual and physical cards to its business users. You can get one virtual card for the company and two physical cards per user. The physical cards can be managed via app. | |
Perks
Revolut Business account comes with some additional perks such as Apple discounts, Zipcar driving credit, Google ads credit, Amazon business discounts and others. TransferWise business offers no such special features or perks.
Final Verdict
Both TransferWise and Revolut business services are awesome. While TransferWise has better coverage and transparency, they both fare very well when it comes to fees and costs. So, it is better to make a decision based on your country of residence and your exact requirements (where money is coming from going and how much).