Revolut Business account review

Revolut has quickly become one of the most popular digital banking platforms available today. With 25+ million personal and 500k+ business users, it has disrupted the traditional banking industry with its innovative approach to finance management. One of its standout offerings is the Revolut Business Account, designed specifically for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and freelancers.

In this review, we'll delve deeper into what makes the Revolut Business Account stand out, and whether it's a good fit for your business needs.

Want to know whether the Revolut Business account is the right fit for you? Here are some pros and cons:

Pros

• No-fee banking: Revolut Business Account offers no monthly or transaction fees, making it a cost-effective option for small businesses.

• Competitive exchange rates: With competitive exchange rates, businesses can save on currency exchange fees.

• Multi-currency support: Revolut Business Account supports over 30 different currencies, making it a great option for businesses that deal with international clients or suppliers.

• Automated expense categorisation: This feature helps businesses save time on administrative tasks by automatically categorising expenses.

• Easy invoicing: Revolut Business Account offers a simple invoicing feature, allowing businesses to easily create and send invoices to clients.

Cons

• Limited financial services: Revolut doesn't offer business loans or credit lines, which may be a downside for businesses looking for more specialised financial services.

• Limited physical presence: As a digital-only banking platform, Revolut may not be ideal for businesses that require in-person banking services.

• Limited integrations: The Revolut Business Account doesn't offer as many integrations with third-party software as some other digital banking platforms do.

• Limited customer support: Some users have reported difficulty getting timely customer support from Revolut, which may be a concern for businesses that require quick support.

• Potential currency conversion fees: While Revolut offers competitive exchange rates, businesses may still be subject to currency conversion fees when transferring money between currencies.

Revolut is a digital banking platform founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko. Initially, it started as a prepaid debit card that offered competitive foreign exchange rates and low fees for international transactions. However, as the company grew, so did its offerings.

They’ve since expanded their services to include personal and business accounts (launched in 2017), international money transfers, cryptocurrency trading, and stock trading, among other things. The company has also introduced a number of innovative features, such as round-up savings, budgeting tools, and cashback offers.

Despite the changes and transformations since its inception, Revolut’s mission has remained the same: “to unlock the power of a borderless economy for everyone.”

To open a Revolut Business Account, you will need to provide certain information and documents to verify your identity and business details.

This includes your operating address confirmation, a short description of the nature of your business, proof and verification of your identity, how you plan to use your business account, and which Business plan you’ll be using.

Eligible businesses include:

• Limited liability companies

• Public limited companies

• General partnerships

• Sole traders

• Freelancers

Revolut Business does not support companies that are listed as public sector entities, charities, private foundations or trusts, or cooperatives. They also retain the right to refuse service for businesses in several industries. Those include:

• Armaments and weapons

• Adult entertainment

• Crowdfunding platforms

• Cryptocurrency firms

• Gambling

• Religious organisations

• Second-hand car dealers

The list is lengthy, meaning it is important to verify that your company does not fall under any of the restricted industries before trying to apply for a Revolut account.

Eligible countries

Revolut Business is only available in certain countries, including the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. For businesses in the EEA or Switzerland, you have to have what’s called a “physical presence” in the country.

This means the applicant needs to live in the country, one of the owners or directors needs to live in the country, and the operating address of the business needs to be there as well.

If you’re eligible to open a business account with Revolut, you’ll need to provide certain details and documents to verify your identity and business information. These typically include:

• Your business registration number (if applicable)

• Proof of address for the business

• Identification documents to verify your identity

• Information about the nature of your business and its activities

• Your Business plan selection

• Your business email address and phone number

• Your personal email address and phone number

Will Revolut do a credit check?

Revolut does not perform a credit check before opening a Business account.

How long does it take to open an account?

Revolut claims you can open a Business account in just 10 minutes through a short form. But after that, they’ll need to review the application, and you’ll have to go through an onboarding process. Depending on your documents and the complexity of your business, the onboarding process may be shorter or longer.

As an average, Revolut has earned itself an average rating of 4.4 / 5 from 159,795 reviews.

Let’s go over a breakdown of the significant features of the Revolut Business account.

Multiple debit cards

Revolut Business Account lets you order as many debit cards as you need for your team, so everyone can have access to their funds in an instant. These cards can be used worldwide in 30+ currencies at the real exchange rate.

Virtual cards

You can also create virtual cards on demand and assign them to any of your team members or external partners without having to wait for a physical card.

Spending limits and control

Easily set spending limits, view transactions in real time and stay on top of your company’s finances with the help of detailed spending reports.

Currency exchange and conversion

Seamlessly exchange funds between different currencies within seconds at market-leading rates and get notified when the rate is favourable for conversion.

International payments and transfers

Make international payments and transfers to over 200 countries with no hidden fees at the real exchange rate.

Invoicing and expenses

Generate invoices without switching applications and include multiple payment options so you and your customers can save time

Partner apps

Integrate with popular accounting, automation, payments, and expense apps such as Zapier, Slack, QuickBooks, and Sage to make the most out of your Revolut Business Account.

Revolut’s bread and butter is international payments. But how good is it for businesses that work across borders?

Revolut Business offers a range of pricing plans to suit businesses of all sizes, from the free plan to paid plans with various features. The free plan has all the basics that businesses need, while paid plans include bulk payments, foreign exchange at the interbank rate, and more. Fees for paid plans start from just £25 per month.

One of the most attractive features of Revolut Business is its competitive exchange rates for international transactions. With the ability to hold and exchange over 30 currencies in real time, Revolut Business provides users with access to interbank exchange rates. But, keep in mind there is a fee of 0.5% - 2.0% outside exchange hours and an extra 1.0% fee for moving TUB, THB, or UAH.

The account also provides users with various account details, including IBAN and BIC numbers, which are essential for international transactions. In addition, users can generate virtual cards and physical cards for their accounts, which can be used to make payments and withdraw cash globally.

Revolut Business offers business account holders competitive rates and fees. While there are four different business accounts: Free, Grow, Scale, and Enterprise, we’re going to hone in on the free account.

Unlike the paid plans, this account includes just five free local payments and no free international transfers, meaning you will incur a £3 fee on each transaction.

Below, we have provided a list of fees businesses can expect to pay (or avoid paying).

When it comes to financial platforms, security is a top priority. Revolut has implemented several safety features to protect their users' money and personal information. Here are some of the most important safety features that Revolut has in place:

1. FCA regulation: Your money is protected by regulated banks at all times.

2. Two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication (2FA) ensures that only authorised users can access their accounts. Users can receive a verification code via SMS or use a third-party authentication app such as Google Authenticator.

3. Card Security: Users can freeze and unfreeze their cards directly from the app. This feature ensures that if a user loses their card or it’s stolen, they can quickly disable it to prevent unauthorised transactions.

4. Transaction Monitoring: Revolut's platform monitors real time transactions to to detect any suspicious activity. If the system detects any unusual behaviour, such as a large transaction or an unusual spending pattern, it will notify the user and potentially block the transaction.

5. Data Encryption: All data transmitted between Revolut's servers and a user's device is encrypted using SSL encryption. This ensures that any sensitive information, such as passwords or bank account details, cannot be intercepted by third parties.

Revolut is regulated as an electronic money institution (EMI) by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom. They’ve also obtained licences from regulatory bodies in other countries where it operates, such as the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the Lithuanian Central Bank.

As an EMI, Revolut has to comply with strict regulatory standards to ensure the safety of its users' funds. This includes safeguarding customer funds in segregated accounts and implementing strict anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures.

Additionally, Revolut has obtained a banking licence in Lithuania, which allows it to provide certain banking services such as deposits, lending, and overdrafts to its customers. This licence is granted by the Bank of Lithuania, the country's central bank and financial regulator.

Revolut offers several support channels to its business account holders, including:

Live chat

• The live chat feature lets business account holders contact Revolut's customer support team directly through the Revolut Business app or site.

• Available 24/7

Email

• Business account holders can also contact Revolut's support team at [email protected]

• Available 24/7

Twitter

• Revolut's business account holders can reach out to the support team via Twitter by tweeting at @RevolutBusiness.

• Available 24/7

Community forum

• Revolut has an online community forum where business account holders can ask questions and get help from other users or Revolut staff.

• Available 24/7

Help centre

• A help centre is available for frequently asked questions.

• Available 24/7

Revolut Business account holders can make batch or bulk payments using the "Mass Payments" feature. This feature allows businesses to make up to 1,000 payments at once in various currencies to recipients around the world.

To use the Mass Payments feature, you can either upload a CSV file containing payment details or create the payment instructions directly in the Revolut Business app. You will need to provide details such as the recipient's name, account number, and bank details. You can also add a payment reference and select the payment currency. Fees may apply depending on the currency and destination country of the payments.

Revolut Business has several integrations with other software and tools to help streamline financial management for businesses. Some of these integrations include:

• Quickbooks. Integrates with Quickbooks to easily reconcile payments.

• Xero. Can be integrated with Xero, an online accounting software, to automatically import transaction data from your Revolut account and reconcile payments.

• Workday. Direct integration with Workday, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that helps businesses manage their finances, HR, and payroll.

• Slack. The Slack integration lets you receive real-time notifications for important account activities such as incoming payments or declined transactions.

• QuickBooks. Integration with QuickBooks to allow for easy reconciliation of payments and transactions.

Wise Business Account

Tailored for startups, freelancers and small businesses alike, the Wise Business Account is a digital banking solution that aims to offer more than just the basics. With its own debit card and features such as multi-currency payments, invoicing tools, expense tracking and extensive API integration - it's all about keeping things streamlined.

Why it’s a good alternative: Boasting connections to over 150 countries and compatibility with 40+ currencies – if global payments are crucial for your business operations – this could be an appealing alternative.

Check out our other reviews

Researching all the options available to you as a business person is vital to making the right decision. Our expert team has written in-depth reviews of various business accounts and platforms - check them out below:

• GoCardless Review
• Wise Review
• Airwallex Review
• Cashplus Review
• Tide Review
• Soldo Review
• Starling Review