Revolut for Business offers two types of online current accounts (not bank accounts):
We’ve tested Revolut Business, setting up a Freelancer account to try the features and service.
Let us go through the offering and rates to determine whether professionals and companies in the UK should consider Revolut.
Core features
The main difference between Revolut Freelancer and Company is that the latter is better for managing multiple employees. As for similarities, the two Revolut Business plans share the following main features.
Multi-currency account: Revolut’s business accounts allow you to receive and send money in 30+ different currencies. Money transfers in the Eurozone and UK (via Faster Payments) don’t cost much or are included on the paid plan, while global transfers incur a transfer fee plus potential hidden fees by intermediary banks.
Image: Mobile Transaction
Business users can create sub-accounts in several different currencies.
Payment cards: A Revolut Business account includes the option to order several prepaid Mastercard debit cards. These will allow you to withdraw money at ATMs and pay in most shops in the UK and abroad (chip and PIN or contactless). Most paid plans include a metal Mastercard, which is more for show than any functional benefits.
You can also create virtual bank cards in your choice of currencies for secure online transactions. The main account manager can set up custom restrictions for every card, or block it with just a click. Since all the cards are prepaid, certain shops may not be able to accept it and the account can never be overdrawn.
Revolut still does not offer loans or overdrafts in the UK, only in other countries such as Ireland, Australia, France, the United States and Germany.
Image: Mobile Transaction
Our Revolut Business prepaid card looks cool and slightly glittery.
Mobile app: You can manage the account entirely through the Revolut Business app for phones and tablets, although the web account has a slightly more detailed interface. The app is fairly straightforward, but can be buggy and is not always intuitive when you’re trying new features for the first time.
One thing we found tedious is how soon the auto-logout happens in the web application especially. Every time you log in, the account requires verification via the mobile app or text message, which would be an issue without your phone present.
Revolut Connect: Users can link their Business account to different apps for accounting (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent), ecommerce (Shopify, WooCommerce), task automation (Zapier) or communication (Slack).
Open API: Advanced users can use Revolut’s application programming interface (API) to integrate with other software and applications. This allows you to automate your own workflows such as cross-border payments and payouts to clients and staff.
Perks: The paid Revolut plans give you discounts and benefits from partners like Google Ads, Slack and Deliveroo for Business.
Image: Mobile Transaction
The app allows anytime banking.
The Freelancer account is in the name of the self-employed person, with his or her name appearing on bank transactions.
There are actually three account options for freelancers: the Free (£0), Professional (£7 a month) and Ultimate (£25 per month) accounts.
We tested both the free and paid account. ‘Free’ is suitable for those with few transactions monthly, while the Professional subscription is better value for self-employed people with multiple incoming and outgoing transactions a month in different currencies.
You can have up to 3 physical Mastercard prepaid cards on a Freelancer plan, though just one is included free. The card we received looks pretty with it’s minimalist, white and glittery surface.
Up to 200 virtual cards can be created per account owner. One metal card is included on Ultimate, but has to be purchased for £49 on Professional (it’s not possible to get it on Free).
The Professional plan has some handy extras like expense management where you can capture payments on the move, bulk payments and the ability to give your accountant limited access to the account.
| Free | Professional | Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team members | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Payment cards included | 1 plastic card 200 virtual cards No metal card |
1 plastic card 200 virtual cards No metal card |
1 plastic card 200 virtual cards 1 metal card |
| Free UK transfers | 5/mo | 20/mo | 100/mo |
| Free SWIFT transfers* | 0 | 5/mo | 10/mo |
| Free currency conversion | None | Up to £5k/mo | Up to £10k/mo |
*A hidden transfer fee may be applied before reaching the Revolut account.
| Free | Profes- sional |
Ulti- mate |
|---|---|---|
| Team members | ||
| Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Physical cards included | ||
| 1 plastic card | 1 plastic card | 1 plastic card 1 metal card |
| Virtual payment cards included | ||
| 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Free UK transfers | ||
| 5/mo | 20/mo | 100/mo |
| Free SWIFT transfers* | ||
| 0/mo | 5/mo | 10/mo |
| Free currency conversion | ||
| None | Up to £5k/mo | Up to £10k/mo |
*A hidden transfer fee may be applied before reaching the Revolut account.
More on fees and costs are found in the Pricing section.
The paid plans give you access to some of the same features as the Freelancer plans, e.g. bulk payments and expense management. Otherwise, the Company plans have identical features, but with the varying limitations indicated in the following table.
| Free | Grow | Scale | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users allowed | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Free UK transfers | 5 | 100 | 1000 | Custom |
| Free SWIFT transfers* | 0 | 10 | 50 | Custom |
| Free currency conversion | None | £10k | £50k | Custom |
*A hidden transfer fee may be applied before reaching the Revolut account.
| Revolut Business Company |
|
|---|---|
| Free | Team members Unlimited Free UK transfers 5 Free SWIFT transfers* 0 Free currency conversion None |
| Grow | Team members Unlimited Free UK transfers 100 Free SWIFT transfers* 10 Free currency conversion Up to £10k |
| Scale | Team members Unlimited Free UK transfers 1000 Free SWIFT transfers* 50 Free currency conversion Up to £50k |
| Enterprise | Team members Unlimited Free UK transfers Custom Free SWIFT transfers* Custom Free currency conversion Custom |
*A hidden transfer fee may be applied before reaching the Revolut account.
The following companies are eligible for a Revolut Company account: private limited companies (LTD), public limited partnerships (PLC), limited liability partnerships (LLP), other partnerships and unlimited companies. Associations, charities or publicly traded companies cannot open one of these accounts.
Some high-risk areas of business are also not accepted by Revolut, for example adult entertainment, promotion of illegal content, armament, art dealers, auctions, gambling, video game arcades, cryptocurrencies, precious metals and stones dealers, client money management, non-profits or religious organisations, political parties and used-car dealerships.
See our interview: Revolut enters business payments – where is it headed?
| Freelancer | Company | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Free: £0 Pro: £7 Ultimate: £25 |
Free: £0 Grow: £25 Scale: £100 Enterprise: Custom |
| UK transfers beyond free quota |
20p per transfer | |
| SWIFT transfers beyond free quota* | £3 per transfer | |
| Transfers to or from another Revolut account | Free | |
| Currency conversion fee beyond free quota |
0.4% markup on FX rate | |
| Cash withdrawal rate | 2% | |
| Online payment acceptance | Consumer UK cards, bank transfers, Revolut Pay: 1% + 20p Other cards: 2.8% + 20p |
|
*A hidden transfer fee may apply before reaching the Revolut account.
| Freelancer | Company |
|---|---|
| Monthly cost | |
| Free: £0 Pro: £7 Ultimate: £25 |
Free: £0 Grow: £25 Scale: £100 Enterprise: Custom |
| UK transfers beyond free quota | |
| 20p each | |
| SWIFT transfers beyond free quota* | |
| £3 | |
| Transfers to or from another Revolut account | |
| Free | |
| Currency conversion fee beyond free quota | |
| 0.4% markup on FX rate | |
| Cash withdrawal fee | |
| 2% | |
| Online payment acceptance | |
| Consumer UK cards, bank transfers, Revolut Pay: 1% + 20p Other cards: 2.8% + 20p |
|
*A hidden transfer fee may apply before reaching the Revolut account.
Revolut for Business accounts differ from many competitors by the absence of conversion fees – up to a limit – on the paid plans. In case of withdrawing or transferring in a currency other than pounds sterling, only the interbank exchange rate (FX) applies. Revolut does not take any additional commission on the currency conversion within the limits determined by the chosen plan. Beyond the limits of your chosen plan, a conversion fee of 0.4% applies to each transaction involving currency conversion.
There are no limits to the number or size of transfers you can receive, but if you receive more than £250k per day, Revolut may contact you to perform some security checks.
When you just open the account, you get the option to credit the Revolut account with a credit card in your name. After this initial transfer, credit card deposits will no longer be an option – only Faster Payments (UK), SEPA and SWIFT deposits will.
To top up your account using PayPal, you must register the RIB of your Revolut account and make a SEPA transfer. It takes about two days for such a payout to process.
Different Revolut accounts can also send each other money instantly free of charge, whether from a Personal Revolut account or Business Revolut account.
Alternatively, you can fund the account by having a customer make a first SEPA or SWIFT transfer.
Online payment options
No matter which Revolut Business plan you’re on, you can set up online card acceptance for free through some additional application steps in your account. The features include:
Online payment gateway: Add a Revolut online checkout through an easy plugin in your Magento, PrestaShop or WooCommerce online store. Alternatively, web developers can build their own checkout flow with the Revolut Merchant API and integrate it on other platforms.
Revolut online checkout page.
Payment requests: If you don’t have a website, you can create a payment link or QR code from the Revolut app to request a payment from a customer. Links can be sent via email or text, whereas QR codes are displayed on your phone for the customer to scan with their phone in person. While creating the link, you can choose the currency, amount and description.
Online transactions are paid directly into your Revolut account the following working day. You can accept 25+ different currencies, settling either in the same currency as the payment or in a select currency at the interbank rate to save on foreign exchange fees.
Online transactions cost only 1% + 20p for consumer cards issued in the UK, “easy bank transfers” (quick to submit for payers) or Revolut Pay. All other card transactions cost 2.8% + 20p.
It is possible to accept cards in person with either the new Revolut Tap to Pay on iPhone feature or the chip and contactless card reader that connects with the Business app. These also require an approved Merchant Account.
Getting started
Signing up is done entirely online. It takes 10-15 minutes to fill in the sign-up pages and complete the verification steps for Revolut Business (longer if you can’t find your proof of ID). First, you provide an email address to receive a confirmation code for signing up.
Then come the verification steps, including giving general information about your business.
Simply submit the required information about your business and take a picture of your identity document (passport, driver’s licence or other photo ID), then finalise the application. You receive an email saying it may take up to a week to approve the application, but we actually got approved the day after.
Signing up requires email and identify verification, but it is a simple procedure with step-by-step guidance.
Once opened, you’re encouraged to transfer money to the new account so subscription fees can be deducted from it (if applicable). It wasn’t possible for us to transfer less than £10 into the new account by debit card.
To order a prepaid Mastercard, pick between free shipping taking up to nine working days, or £19.99 express delivery taking up to two working days – in which case you need £19.99 in the new account.
Every time you log into your Revolut account, a number code is sent to your email address, ensuring only the approved user can access it. Clicking on that code logs you into the account which opens up in a new tab.
Revolut Business is without contractual commitment, but two weeks’ notice is required to properly close the account.
Our experience of Revolut for Business
We performed our own tests of Revolut by opening two separate Freelancer accounts: a Free account in the UK and Professional account in France.
In both cases, opening the account took less than 24 hours, which is a significant improvement if we are to believe the complaints in user reviews of this neobank.
We tested the account’s funding by debit card (UK), credit card (French) and PayPal. The transactions by credit and debit card were received immediately, but PayPal’s took less than 24 hours, similar to an incoming SEPA credit transfer.
The prepaid Mastercard was supposed to arrive after two weeks, but we were pleasantly surprised to receive it after three days. In the meantime, we had already been able to make online purchases using the virtual card on the same day the account was opened.
Image: SG, Mobile Transaction
Example of a free international transfer.
We were also curious whether the lack of transfer fees – one of Revolut’s big selling points – was real.
Indeed, there were no transaction fees for a SEPA transfer received in the Eurozone. This may of course vary depending on the issuing bank, but from our tests in France, that promise was kept.
However, when we performed an incoming SWIFT transfer from outside Europe to a UK Revolut account, both from GBP to GBP currency and euro to GBP currency, exactly £15 was deducted before reaching the Revolut account.
We know this fee was deducted in the UK, but Revolut did not include it in the total – they only included the £3 Transfer Fee they advertise online. So in total, we were charged £18 for each international SWIFT transfer to GBP.
We contacted Revolut to ask about this, and they replied: “sometimes there are fees, which are applied by the intermediary banks”. They refused to refund the £15 as it was not applied by them, despite us pointing out that Revolut does not mention the existence of such an extra fee on their website.
You should be careful when communicating bank details to your debtors so you don’t leave out the BIC code when necessary, for transactions outside SEPA.
Another drawback: Revolut for Business is in principle a multi-currency account. When activated, it first offers three accounts: in GBP, EURO and USD. To benefit from the promised multi-currency account, you must go through an additional verification step and make the request via the chat. After our request in France, our multi-currency account was activated that day.
It’s regrettable that this procedure is not clearly explained at the time of account creation and in the FAQs. We had to browse the Revolut user forum to discover this step-by-step activation.
Save all your payees in the ‘counterparties’ section.
The lack of clarity in customer communication is also not great. While generally reactive during the day, customer service is only available via chat. And during our many attempts to resolve issues around the card reader and account verification, we often got a response just only said they are still working on it, rather than an actual resolution.
It may be necessary to use the dedicated forum to solve your problems on the free plans, but any of the paid plans include 24/7 support when you need to reach a member of the Revolut team to fix something more urgently.
Our verdict
This business account is particularly valuable for small businesses with employees abroad or that regularly carry out transactions within SEPA, whether that be payments, direct debits, outgoing or incoming transfers.
It is not the cheapest business account for international SWIFT transfers to the UK, as we found out with the hidden fee that wasn’t even shown in the Revolut account. You have to compare the amount sent by the payer with the amount received in Revolut to discover all the fees. Revolut is not transparent about this on their website.
| Revolut Business criteria | Rating | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 4.1 | Good |
| Costs and fees | 4 | Good |
| Transparency and sign-up | 4.4 | Good/Excellent |
| Value-added services | 4.8 | Excellent |
| Service and reviews | 3.7 | Passable/Good |
| Contract | 4.2 | Good |
| OVERALL SCORE | 4.2 | Good |
Revolut has recently made many changes to their offering, including payment requests and online payments. This could attract more freelancers and businesses looking for a cheaper solution for online payments than PayPal, or indeed anyone selling remotely.
Sole traders will indeed find the Freelancer account interesting, especially as it is very simple to switch from the Free to Professional plan when it looks like you will receive more transfers than included on the free plan.
The no-fuss interface and speedy transactions are clear draws for freelancers.
The Revolut Freelancer Professional account is ideal for entrepreneurs and sole traders who depend on UK transfers – the no-fuss interface and speedy transactions are clear draws. Just keep an eye on the fees applied to international transfers.
The absence of an authorised overdraft is limiting and requires regular verification of the balance, which can be prohibitive for a company using several bank cards. Some companies will also not like that you cannot apply for credit from Revolut.
Those negatives should eventually be resolved as Revolut plans to have an overdraft and credit option for the Business accounts. Revolut is constantly evolving, regularly promising new features that are sometimes slow to arrive.
