Arriving like a tsunami in 2015, Revolut is a revolutionary payment card system that is shaking the world's largest banks.
We'll tell you about it.
Origins:
Stunned by the astronomical amount of fees charged by "traditional" banks, Vald Yatsenko and Nikolay Storonsky, two former Credit Suisse traders, decided in 2014 to launch Revolut. At present, their platform has more than 8 million regular users.
How does Revolut work?
Revolut is not a traditional bank. Rather, it is a virtual wallet or an online account, such as PayPal.
Revolut allows you to pay in more than 130 currencies worldwide, withdraw money from ATMs abroad and transform currencies – all at no cost.
To get Revolut, you enter your phone number on their website and receive a download link for the app (android, IOS). You then only have to pay a deposit of CHF 10 (which you can use later) to receive the Revolut card, which is a debit card, you will be able to deposit money on this card and use it as a prepaid card.
You can also connect Apple Pay to Revolut for easy payments.
What are the benefits of Revolut?
It's instant, easy to use, and at no cost.
With Revolut, you don't pay any fees when withdrawing money abroad (from CHF 200 to CHF 600 per month).
In addition, you benefit from the exact exchange rates with no markup on them, unlike most banks that generally tax 1% to 3% on foreign currency transactions.
To give you an example, you're going to London and you need local money. With Revolut, you can instantly convert your Swiss francs into British pounds, at no cost.
Now you're going from London to the United States.
There are still pounds sterling in your account. No problem, you can turn them into dollars, again free of charge and instantly.
You can use your Revolut card for up to around CHF 6,000 per month free of charge.
Would you like to withdraw cash on site? With a classic bank card, fees are applied to each withdrawal, with Revolut you can withdraw the equivalent of 400 euros (about 420 CHF) per month, always without fees.
On top of that, for every 10 purchases made with the Revolut card, you will benefit from benefits in the form of Cashback (money paid into your account) or discounts in restaurants, shops, hotels etc.
Money transfers abroad are also not marked-up.
Purchases on the internet in foreign currency are also mark-up, which significantly increases your possibilities for purchases in online shops that would not normally have been worth it.
Cryptocurrencies:
It is possible to buy, transfer and sell cryptocurrencies through Revolut with reduced charges compared to competitors. When you create your account, you have immediate access to the best cryptocurrencies such as BitCoins, Ether or LiteCoins.
You can also automatically round up each payment you make, the difference will be placed in a safe to save money (for example on a payment of 9.50 CHF, 50 cents will be automatically transferred, if you wish of course).
Attractive paid offers:
For frequent users and frequent travelers, Revolut's paid options offer many benefits and quickly become profitable. For the €14 per month version, you will be able to benefit from the following services:
- 0.1% to 1% Cashback on all card payments
- Medical insurance abroad
- Baggage and delayed flight insurance
- Access to cryptocurrencies
- Equity Portfolio
- And much more...