What Are You Missing with Revolut? As great as Revolut is, it isn’t the complete package. It has some great features but is also missing some essential ones. Some of the areas where you might find that Revolut falls short include;
Unlimited virtual cards
Revolut has a limited number of corporate cards (virtual and physical). This can limit how you process funds or make payments. Some Revolut alternatives offer an unlimited number of corporate cards. They allow you to create as many cards as needed and have them dedicated to your employees, departments or other monthly expense categories. This is a crucial feature for businesses that allows them to ease transactions and payment of expenses and fees. With Revolut, you get a maximum of 200 virtual cards and only 3 physical cards at a time. For a small business, this might suffice, but for larger businesses, it might be limiting, especially if the business is looking to scale.Credit facilities
Revolut doesn’t offer any credit options for its business or private partners. Borrowing and spending within the app and repaying at the end of the billing period is a quick and convenient way for businesses and business owners to access funds without worrying about overdrafts. Some Revolut alternatives offer this feature, although the amount of money you can access varies widely depending on how long you’ve been a customer and your financial standing based on the statement from the fintech provider. This credit facility for businesses and business owners is often available within a few days and without as much documentation as a bank requires. This makes it easy for businesses to get a quick cash injection when needed.Lower transfer prices
The price model of Revolut can be slightly confusing. It promises a certain number of free local and international payments depending on the payment you choose. The number of transfers you get depends on your chosen pricing scheme, and the payment price after you exceed the free limit can be slightly high. Also, while Revolut exchange rates are better than what traditional banks offer, they are not the best. Some options like Wise and Pay iO have better rates, meaning the recipients get more money, and the sender saves money on the transfer.Smart budgeting tools
Revolut isn’t designed to help its customers make the most out of their money. It does a great job of helping you spend your money and giving you the freedom to spend wherever you are, but the same can’t be said about budgeting. Other apps have various budgeting tools and features that allow you to set maximum spending limits, tagging expenses and tabulating every expense made under a category, helping you know if you’re on the right track with your expenses or are about to exceed them. These features are particularly essential for businesses and ensure they can easily predict when they’re about to go overboard with their spending. They also help business owners identify the expenses and categories that cause them to break their budgeting rules.AP automation
Account payables involve a series of steps like onboarding vendors, receiving and uploading invoices, scheduling payments and sending them out on time. These are crucial to businesses and make the work of accountants in a business easier and smoother. Revolut goes as far as helping you make and schedule business transactions. However, it is not fully automated, and you cannot track the payment by its vendor. So, as far as vendor management is concerned, Revolut is short-handed in the kind of support it can offer you.Expense policies
Revolut has some expense reporting and control features, but some alternatives offer better and more robust features that make it easier for accountants and businesses to stay on top of their expenses. With Revolut alternatives, you can give accountants full control to update expense policies and create rules. This way, the application knows how to route any payment and who is approving the payment. You can also set limits for different expense categories and have multiple approvers, so your business never has to come to a standstill.Features to Look for in a Suitable Revolut Alternative
Now that you know everything that you might be missing out on with your Revolut account, before looking at the potential alternative, it’s vital to know what you should be looking for so you don’t end up with a worse option. Granted, the digital banking sector has expanded drastically over the past few years. Finding alternatives to Revolut won’t be a problem, but the goal should be to find better alternatives that will help you better align with your financial goals. Here are some of the factors you should consider.Security
The alternative you choose should offer top-notch security features for its customers on all its digital products and platforms. These include online banking and mobile apps. You should ensure the service complies with all of the security regulations in the UK. It’s not enough for the services to have the features. You must also use them. Set limits, two-factor authentication, and enable and disable payment options.Mobile apps
The basic idea behind digital banking and payment services is convenience, and it doesn’t get better than mobile apps. Many of the alternatives to Revolut are mobile banks. Some of them are even mobile-only. The option you go with should offer you a state-of-the-art mobile app. An app that should allow you to transfer money, check your balance and account history, set security limits and many more. Mobile apps are extremely reliable and convenient. They allow you to take your account wherever you go and manage your finances even outside the country.Multi-currency accounts
Revolut offers a multi-currency account that allows business and personal customers to hold and exchange currencies. But that’s not nearly enough for customers who travel frequently and businesses with a presence in multiple countries. If you intend to transact business globally, you need an alternative that allows you to send and receive payments in more currencies. This is convenient and saves you money in currency conversion fees.ATM withdrawals
Personal customers will need easy access to cash no matter where they are. Some of the alternatives presented below make this possible and allow you to withdraw a certain amount of money each month at no cost. Once you reach your limit, some fees will apply. The cards attached to these challenger banks are extremely versatile and can be used in most ATMs worldwide.Contactless payments
Some alternatives offer NFC or contactless payment options. Customers can use mobile apps to pay for their purchases whenever and wherever they are.5 Best Revolut Alternatives
When choosing a Revolut alternative, you need to consider the application of the account, whether it will be for business or personal use. These alternatives are carefully selected to offer a good balance of both to ensure effective service if you want to have accounts for either purpose.Wise
Wise is one of the best alternatives to Revolut, offering low-cost, fast and easy international payments. With minimal requirements, a Wise account is cheaper and easier to run than a bank account. Wise accounts hold over 40 currencies, which solves the multi-currency problem presented in Revolut accounts, and you can link the account with a card that you can use around the world. You can also access local account details and get paid from 30 countries fee-free. Wise has a different price scheme, and the fees are slightly different. Unlike Revolut, where customers who choose a free standard account get a set amount of free currency conversion and transactions, but fees apply if you use the account frequently, all Wise accounts are free. You enjoy the same low, transparent fees for your transactions and exchange range no matter how often you use the account.Wise Pros:
- You can send payments to over 80 countries with low and transparent fees
- There are no extra or monthly subscription fees when operating a Wise account or when doing a currency exchange rate on the weekends
- You get live chat support on the phone, and you can also reach customer support on various social media platforms. Wise also has a helpful customer support page addressing customers’ most common questions.
Wise Cons:
- You have to pay a fee every time you transfer money
- Wise is not available in all countries
- Like Revolut, Wise is also more inclined to serve businesses
Pay iO
Pay iO is another excellent alternative to Revolut. It’s perfect for business accounts and has well-rounded features that help you unlock your full financial potential with a robust range of efficient features. If you like the pricing structure of Revolut and want an alternative that gives you the same tiered approach to fees, Pay iO will fit right in. There are three different Pay iO accounts that range from £25. These are Pay iO PRO, Pay iO Plus and Pay iO Platinum. What’s impressive with this pay structure is that the Platinum class can be customised to the customer’s needs, ensuring you only get what you pay for. Pay iO also offers a mobile app and web platform for easy access. These platforms are not only user-friendly but provide users unrestricted access to their accounts at any time of the day or night. The service has extensive features and payment options tailored to small and big businesses. As a Pay iO customer, you can enjoy getting bank payments directly from your customers and managing your transactions and expenses from one interface. You can also send and receive global payments in one easy-to-manage account. You can get virtual and physical accounts and complete various types of payments directly from your Pay iO account. Pay iO also offers open banking, API, streamline payments, Direct APPI, Finctech, Direct payments and Payment portal. It has all the tools a business would want to achieve financial success. Also, with the vast range of features and reach of Pay iO, the service is capable of scaling your business.Pay iO Pros:
- Customers get a wide range of features and functions that make it easier to run a business and make prompt payments
- The transaction fees are affordable and transparent. Even small businesses find it cost-effective to work with Pay iO
- Friendly and responsive customer support to help you with any challenges you might experience when using the service
- You can get virtual and physical cards and set account expense limits
- Opening a Pay iO account is quick, with a short onboarding process
Pay iO Cons
- Pay iO mainly focuses on business accounts, although it has a robust personal account offering as well, but most of its clients are businesses.
- Pay iO offers many services, so the UI might be a little crowded and confusing initially.
- A fee-free current account with a wide range of financial services
- The Saving Spaces feature makes budgeting and saving towards specific goals easier
- A pension scheme, a youth card and an interest on balances for added benefits
- A diverse range of features makes it a suitable alternative to Revolut.
