Digital banking platform Revolut notes in a blog post that as you might already know, sending funds abroad with traditional banks can be quite costly and very slow. The fees may be really high and transactions may often take at least several business days to complete.
That’s why Revolut and Fintech Unicorn Wise are “changing the game.” The Revolut team further noted that with personal accounts, card spending abroad (and other useful features), consumers are able to save “a ton of time and money.” The Fintech firms also make it “much cheaper and faster to send money abroad.”
However, Revolut asks which is better for sending funds abroad?
Going on to comment on FX rates and fees for Revolut and Wise, the digital bank noted that both Revolut and Wise “charge great exchange rates when compared to traditional high street banks.”
Both Revolut and Wise “base their FX rates on real-time data from third parties such as Reuters,” the team at Revolut explained. They added that Wise uses the mid-market rate, “which is the midpoint between the current buy and sell prices of any two currencies.”
The Fintech firm added:
“Revolut uses the real exchange rate. These are the buy and sell rates they have determined based on the foreign exchange market data feeds they consume from a range of different independent sources.”
The company also mentioned:
“For Revolut, there may also be some additional fees for exotic currencies (UAH and THB) and currency exchanges over the weekend. The only times you will pay more than this for most international transfers is if you exceed the exchange fair usage limit of £1,000 a month for a Standard or Plus account. Beyond that, a fee of 0.5% applies. You can avoid this completely by upgrading to a Premium or Metal plan, which don’t have any FX fair usage limits.”
The Fintech firm added that not only are they great for FX, but Revolut and Wise are also “excellent choices for sending money to people abroad, normally working out cheaper and faster than traditional banks.”
And when it comes to transaction fees, both providers “offer similar rates,” however, where Revolut wins is “euro transfers to Europe — it’s completely free,” the company noted.
They also mentioned that for euro transfers to Europe, Revolut does not charge transfer fees “at all.”
For all other local currencies, Revolut “charges a single 0.3% transfer fee for international transfers in most local currencies, such as USD, PLN, RON, and many others.” The update also noted that this is “pegged to a minimum of £0.3 and a maximum of £5 for UK users (read more on our Fees page).”
The Revolut team further noted that you may “avoid this fee by upgrading to Premium and Metal to get 1 and 3 free international transfers each month, respectively.” They added that Wise, on the other hand, “has a variable fee and additional fixed fee as well. These fees tend to be slightly higher, such as 0.35% for EUR or 0.39% for PLN.”
The Revolut team also noted:
“For both providers, sometimes intermediary banks may charge additional fees on top to receive the transfer. However, this only applies to very few select countries and banks and is out of Revolut or Wise’s control.”
The Fintech firm added:
“If you’re looking to get the cheaper overall rates for international transfers, Revolut is the clear winner. If you were to send £1000 in some of the most popular currencies, Revolut would cost you less every time. Bonus points if you’re sending euro transfers to Europe because Revolut doesn’t charge transfer fees.”
The company pointed out that Revolut has “no hidden fees and offers great exchange rates, making it cheap and easy to send money abroad.”