When it comes to international money transfers, Transferwise and Revolut have stolen the limelight, and they both deserve it. These two money transfer services are gradually evolving into a global online banking system. Since they are both top-notch money transfer services available, people often like to compare them side by side.
They both offer similar services but are distinct in their own way. Which one is the one for you? We’ll have an in-depth study of both of them to help you figure out which one is best suited for you.
About Transferwise
Launched in 2011, It is based in the UK. Transferwise is a international money transfer service. If you own a Transferwise account, you can transfer money to any user in virtually every currency available. You can also opt to send money to someone’s bank account. Additionally, with the borderless Mastercard, you can use money from your account.
Transferwise was initially targeted towards people living and working overseas. It allowed them to receive their pay in a currency different from the country in which they were living. Transferwise allowed them to cut costs significantly.
They have been making gains since 2017 and right now boasts of four million users. Transferwise also holds more than a thousand employees across the globe. They offer their services in the United States and Europe.
Transferwise Features
- Mid-market rate
- 5 star Trustpilot ratings
- Secure payments
- Payments supported via bank transfers, SWIFT transfers, Apple Pay, and debit card
- Prior to transfers, fees and rate information are furnished
- Repeat or single payment options are available
- Supports USD, GBP, EUR, and AUD
- Borderless accounts do not require overseas address
- Transfers require just 1-4 days
- Peet to peer platform
About Revolut
The UK based Revolut was launched in 2015, and they offer international money transfer services just like Transferwise. You have the option to not only send money to other users but also their bank account. With the Revolut Mastercard, you can use money transfers from your Revolut account. Additionally, they also service virtual cards which you can use on the internet. It has also started supporting cryptocurrencies.
Revolut primarily focused on people travelling abroad; such people had to incur a lot of fees for their credit card when they travelled abroad. Users were able to save a lot of money.
In 2021, Revolut boasted a user base of nearly 20 million users and according to Statista, it’s growing quite fast. They also maintain 600 employees across the globe.
As of now, their services are available in the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States.
Revolut Features
- Vaults saving option
- Supports cryptocurrency purchase and exchange
- Blocking and ordering cards supported
- Global money transfers are free
- Transfers supported through
- Supports card freezing for security
- Top up through USD, GBP, and EUR and supports transfer across the globe using the card
- Interbank FX rates
- 125,000Euros week transfer limit
- Management of account through a mobile application or WhatsApp supported
- Provides European IBAN along with UK current account digits
Transferwise vs Revolut: International Money Transfer Services
Money transfer services constitute the primary focus of both companies. Both the companies offer a debit card which you can use anywhere. And not credit card! You can even charge your card through your bank accounts. After that, you can use the debit card online or as a physical card. Both Revolut and Transferwise allows its user to withdraw money through their debit card.
Both of them allows the user to transfer from one account to another user’s account or their bank account. There is not much of a difference in speed, but Revolut occasionally is found to be faster.
However, there is a difference when receiving money. With Revolut, you can only receive money in CHF, EUR, and GBP. But Transferwise allows you to add money in USD as well. It can be very beneficial if you own investments in USD or get paid in USD.
You can access Transferwise through your smartphone or even through your PC, but with Revolut, you will have to depend on their mobile platform. Transferwise offers more option for users, but both services are very user-friendly.
Transferwise vs Revolut: Availability
Both Transferwise and Revolut has excellent support throughout Europe, but Revolut is mostly limited to European countries. It is supported in 32 European countries. In Australia, it is available and is already booming. And they are planning on extending their services to the US as well. However, Transferwise is available in the United States and across 48 countries. This makes Transferwise more popular as it is available in a larger amount of countries, including the US.
When it comes to currencies, Transferwise supports 96 currencies, while Revolut supports a whooping 140 currencies. Additionally, Revolut enables you to hold money in 24 different currencies in your account. But with Transferwise, holding the money, you are limited to only 16 currencies.
Revolut offers much better currency coverage. This can be a significant advantage if you like travelling abroad a lot.
Transferwise vs Revolut: Exchange Rate, Costs and Fees
With Transferwise, opening an account is free. It boasts of charging mid-range money exchange rates for transfers but attaches transfer fees for every transaction. However, the fees are quite minimal and transparent, and the amount depends on the country you are living in, the currency you will be sending, and the currency the beneficiary will receive.
Payments for currencies you hold with a Transferwise card is free. However, if you don’t have sufficient currency, Transferwise automatically exchanges it with a conversion fee ranging from 0.35% to 1%. In comparison to other cards, this is much cheaper. ATM withdrawals up to 200Euros are free, and for more than that, a fee of 2% is levied.
Similarly with Revolut, opening an account is free but provides limited features. However, there are numerous membership options available-Metal charges 12.99 Euros per month and Premium is priced at 6.99Euros per month. If you want to carry out transfers in the same currency, Revolut doesn’t charge any fees. For most currencies, it maintains mid-market exchange rates, excluding the weekends when a 0.5% mark-up fee is levied.
If you want to transfer cross-currency inside the Eurozone, you will be charged 0.5% if you surpass your free foreign currency exchange limit, which is 5000Euro’s every month. If your transfers are below the threshold, no fee will be charged.
For currencies you hold, you can use your Revolut card for free. However, if you don’t contain sufficient currency in your account, the company will charge the mid-market rate in order to convert the currency.
You can withdraw money up to 200Euros from the ATM with no transaction fee. After that, a fee of 2% will be charged.
Generally, Revolut is a better option if you want to transfer in Switzerland, Europe or the UK and is primarily using the card for paying. Transferwise is more suitable if you are going to transfer to other countries outside of Europe.
Make sure to check each companies exchange rate pricing before sending your money!
Debit Card Comparison – Is It Better Or At Least More Useful Than Credit Card?
The Mastercard from Transferwise is linked with the borderless account. You can use this card to withdraw money and make payments anywhere Mastercard is accepted. Additionally, the card also supports contactless payments.
A commission ranging from 0.35 to 1% is applied whenever you convert money from one currency to another.
On the other hand, Revolut presents you with three forms of card relating to the type of account you hold. If you have a standard account, you will be provided with the plastic standard card; for the premium account, a customizable plastic card and for the metal account, a metal card.
Depending on the country of residence, you can have a Visa or Mastercard, and it will be accepted wherever Visa or Mastercard is accepted. All Revolut cards support contactless payments.
At the mid-market level, if you want to convert one currency to another, Revolut does not charge any fees. Apart from the physical card which you can order when you open your Revolut account, virtual cards are also available for initiating online payments.
One advantage of virtual cards is that they are impossible to lose, and you can always create and cancel them from the application.
You can also manage both the virtual and physical cards from the mobile application; you can block and unblock your cards anytime. Additionally, you can also cancel and order new cards.
When it comes to Transferwise vs Revolut features with the cards, Revolut offers far more functionality and convenience.
Transferwise and Revolut: Limitations
Both companies have certain restrictions. Transferwise incurs a tiny default limit for every operation. However, you can change this through the smartphone application. For the US and European customers, Transferwise has set different limits.
Customers in Europe can withdraw 1000GBP per transaction, for each day it is 1500GBP, and per month withdrawal is limited to 4000GBP. If customers want to purchase online, there is a maximum limit of 10,000GBP per day and a limit of 30,000 GBP every month. However, US customers face smaller restrictions. They can withdraw 4000usd every month, and 1000USD every day. For online transactions, they are limited to 2000USD and 10,000USD per day and month, respectively.
Revolut features a more straightforward system when it comes to limits. The customer’s withdrawal limit is set to 3000GBP per day. And with Revolut, you get the option to transfer a large amount of money. 100,000 GBP is the daily limit for Revolut. And the weekly limit is set to 250,000GBP.
In comparison to Transferwise, Revolut features much higher limits. However, the limits of Transferwise shouldn’t be a problem and should be sufficient for most people.
Revolut vs Transferwise: Feature Comparison
Transferwise primarily focuses on offering international money transfers at affordable costs between Transferwise accounts or bank accounts.
However, Revolut offers a lot more features. They also support cryptocurrencies since 2018. However, you will have to pay a fee of 1.5% every time you buy or sell cryptocurrencies, but you will not be able to withdraw them from your Revolut. You will also not be able to move them to your wallet. So, you will still have to depend on other cryptocurrency exchanges and different exchange rates.
Additionally, Revolut also provides insurance for numerous things. They also maintain vaults, through which you’ll be able to round purchases and save extra cash. Through their mobile platform, you can also access various budgeting capabilities. And Revolut also possesses a banking license which means they can provide banking services in the near future.
Differences Between Transferwise and Revolut
Even though we are comparing Transferwise vs Revolut and they are completely different, both platforms appear to offer similar services. However, both have been designed for unique purposes. Transferwise business focus is on providing affordable international money transfers with its peer transfers between bank accounts. The company has expanded its offering over the last few years, but a large number of people still use it to carry out bank to bank transfers from one currency to a different one.
Thanks to its transparent and very affordable fees, Tansferwise has seen a considerable rise in the industry. They also provide the borderless account, a service that is highly beneficial for people who require local bank details in numerous countries.
On the other side, Revolut was created to target international people in business and travellers. Their primary advantage is the multi-currency card which allows for affordable and quick currency exchange, either while paying with the card or through their application or withdrawing from the ATM.
Although Revolut supports transfers to bank accounts, most users depend on it for transferring from one Revolut account to another. Transfers within Revolut is just a matter of seconds.
Transferwise vs Revolut: Customer Service Review
Transferwise offers a very extensive help section along with a detailed guide that can assist you in resolving most issues.
If you face an issue and want to contact their customer support, you can do so through email, live chat, or phone.
However, the live chat function is not always available, and it tends to appear and disappear, depending on how busy it is.
Similarly, Revolut also boasts an impressive help section that can answer all possible questions. If a problem arises, you can contact their support through chats available on the application during regular business hours.
Transferwise bot Rita initiates the chat feature, and if you want to be transferred to an operation, you can simply type ‘Live Agent’. Additionally, you can also opt to join the Revolut community and can also contact them through social media channels.
Both the platforms have superb customer service, but Transferwise is much quicker and offers more channels to communicate with them.
Transferwise Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Their main website is available in numerous languages such as Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian, Japanese, Italian, German, French, and English.
- Transferwise also allows carrying out batch payments for up to 1000 recipients. This can be beneficial for payments to freelancers or self-employed contractors. Send money easily.
- Thanks to the Transferwise bot which is available on Facebook messenger, transferring on the go is more straightforward and convenient.
- They also offer numerous communication channels and maintains prompt customer service action.
Cons:
- It is unable to accept bound payments originating from Hong Kong.
- Only spot transfers are supported.
- Processing time varies according to currency and location.
Revolut Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Supports purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies.
- Easy to send money from your card to your account.
- Easy to register and set up an account.
- Fee-free transactions.
- Can access the account online or through the mobile application.
- Supports virtual cards.
- Provides insurance options as well.
- Fast and free transactions.
Cons:
- Available only in Europe and Australia.
- Charges higher rates during the weekends.
Transferwise vs Revolut: Customer Reviews
Excellent customer reviews support both Revolut and Transferwise. For comparison, we refer to the Trustpilot scoring.
Based on more than 74,000 reviews, Transferwise has an excellent rating of four and a half stars. 86% of users rated the platform a score of 5 stars. Only 3% of users gave it a rating of ‘bad’.
On the other hand, Revolut scored an impressive four and a half stars based on more than 36,000 reviews. 79% of the reviewers gave it a rating of five stars and 7% rated it as ‘bad’.
Revolut vs Payoneer vs Transferwise – Which One Is Better?
- Transferwise compared to Payoneer offers fixed fees, which can be useful for certain purposes
- Minimum transfer amount starts from only $1
- Transfer fee can vary from 0% to 0.5%
- You can order Transferwise borderless account (Transferwise borderless is amazing option for travelers and freelancers)
- Free monthly plan with limited functions which are great for testing purposes
- Transaction speed can take up to 2 days
- If you compare Revolut vs Payoneer mobile applications, Revolut, in our opinion, takes a big leap forward with its amazing and user-friendly interface
- When receiving money, transfer fees can charge up to 1%
- As an individual, you won’t be pay able to make overseas payments to anyone, unlike what TransferWise offers
- Good for freelancers and business owners
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
- How to transfer money to Revolut?
- You can send money to another Revolut user if you have only his phone number
- For bank account transfer you will have to add a recipient and send money to his bank account
- How does Transferwise borderless card work?
Final Verdict: Revolut vs Transferwise – Which Is Better?
Both services are excellent, and they are both 100% authentic. It all comes down to your requirements and your location. If you are going to carry out most transactions in USD or have invested in USD, Transferwise seems the most logical option. It is more convenient as you can access it through your PC or smartphone; Transferwise is also transparent and incurs minimal fees. It has much higher ratings and reviews on Trustpilot guaranteeing its authenticity and usefulness.
On the other hand, Revolut should be your option if you operate from Europe or trade in multiple currencies. It supports far more countries and currency. Unlike TransferWise, it supports cryptocurrencies. If you need a much higher limit, then Revolut becomes your obvious choice in comparison to Transferwise. If you like shopping online, they also provide virtual cards. Another significant advantage of Revolut is that it incurs no transfer fees, so if you don’t want to be bothered by transaction fees, this is the best-suited pick for you.
If your primary criteria is initialling online transfers from one account to another, TransferWise should be your pick. However, if you’re a businessman or you require more financial flexibility, order Revolut.
After reading our Revolut vs Transferwise comparison, which one do you think is better?
And leave a comment below if you have more questions!
