Revolut - Ultracheap FX (prepaid Mastercard)

MisterAnarchy

Dodge wrote: »

Yep. That's a unique account and can accept third party payments from other U.K. bank accounts

Nice one .
I've tried adding it to my Paypal account but its looking for an Iban and I only have an Account Number and Sort Code ,I cant seem to convert it to an Iban using online converters.

troyzer

EagererBeaver wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

It's 290 pages long...... "Read the thread" is impractical. There should be a new forum for e-banks/fintech with sticky FAQs on each one. But right now we're stuck with a superthread so some questions can and will be asked and answered several times.

True, but people could also make the effort to read the Revolut literature and FAQ before coming on here asking questions.

The Revolut website is surprisingly dense and obtuse to get information from. It's something it has in common with other e-banks. They've spent a lot of resources offering services but it's very difficult to get a good grasp on what some of those services are. Even some people here show that, you CAN use Revolut as a normal bank in every circumstance except for direct debits. They're adding direct debit function later apparentely but right now you can have an IBAN which allows you to do 90% of what a normal bank offers.

troyzer

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Can someone explain to me what happens if I top up using my Australian debit card?

I've fiddled around with it after just starting and I now have a euro balance and a sterling balance. Had no problem topping up with an Irish debit card and I'm taking up a job in a few weeks in Northern Ireland. With a bank account number that means I can get paid into my Sterling account, transfer instantly for next to nothing to my Euro IBAN for the weekends back in Dublin? Nifty idea.

However, I'm in Australia at the moment and currently getting paid into an Australian account. If I want to top up with my debit card, will this show up as a purchase in Euro on my Australian bank statement with the accompanying high charges? Or will it think Revolut is Australian? When I go into the currency list, Aud isn't there. I assume I'm going to get hammered with charges by my Australian account which sort of defeats the purpose of the entire service for me. It would just be cheaper to do what I'd previously been doing with Currencyfair.

As far as I can see, there is no option to top up an AUD balance using a debit card. This means that you would have to top up your EUR balance with it, and like you say, it would show up on your Australian bank statement as a euro purchase with your bank's exchange rate.

However, there is an option to top up an AUD balance by bank transfer, so you can do that, and when the money reaches your Revolut account you can exchange it for euros.

The AUD IBAN it's giving me is their Lloyds account in Canary Wharf. So I'm going to be hit with a GBP transfer fee plus a crappy exchange rate. I don't think there's any way to mitigate exchange charges unless I go third party with currency fair or transfer wise which as I said, defeats the whole purpose.

Interesting, seems incredibly useful if you're going the other way though.

troyzer

Yggr of Asgard wrote: »

bromley52 wrote: »

I still have a £ account.

Those of us who clicked and got it once it was available initially got to keep it even after they restricted it to UK residents only.

But non UK residents right now only get the € IBAN option.

I only signed up the other day and I have a unique UK account. It's not an IBAN though.

carrotcake

troyzer wrote: »

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Can someone explain to me what happens if I top up using my Australian debit card?

I've fiddled around with it after just starting and I now have a euro balance and a sterling balance. Had no problem topping up with an Irish debit card and I'm taking up a job in a few weeks in Northern Ireland. With a bank account number that means I can get paid into my Sterling account, transfer instantly for next to nothing to my Euro IBAN for the weekends back in Dublin? Nifty idea.

However, I'm in Australia at the moment and currently getting paid into an Australian account. If I want to top up with my debit card, will this show up as a purchase in Euro on my Australian bank statement with the accompanying high charges? Or will it think Revolut is Australian? When I go into the currency list, Aud isn't there. I assume I'm going to get hammered with charges by my Australian account which sort of defeats the purpose of the entire service for me. It would just be cheaper to do what I'd previously been doing with Currencyfair.

As far as I can see, there is no option to top up an AUD balance using a debit card. This means that you would have to top up your EUR balance with it, and like you say, it would show up on your Australian bank statement as a euro purchase with your bank's exchange rate.

However, there is an option to top up an AUD balance by bank transfer, so you can do that, and when the money reaches your Revolut account you can exchange it for euros.

The AUD IBAN it's giving me is their Lloyds account in Canary Wharf. So I'm going to be hit with a GBP transfer fee plus a crappy exchange rate. I don't think there's any way to mitigate exchange charges unless I go third party with currency fair or transfer wise which as I said, defeats the whole purpose.

Interesting, seems incredibly useful if you're going the other way though.

It's an AUD account held in the UK, so no exchange is done. The only fee is whatever your bank charges for the transfer.

troyzer

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Can someone explain to me what happens if I top up using my Australian debit card?

I've fiddled around with it after just starting and I now have a euro balance and a sterling balance. Had no problem topping up with an Irish debit card and I'm taking up a job in a few weeks in Northern Ireland. With a bank account number that means I can get paid into my Sterling account, transfer instantly for next to nothing to my Euro IBAN for the weekends back in Dublin? Nifty idea.

However, I'm in Australia at the moment and currently getting paid into an Australian account. If I want to top up with my debit card, will this show up as a purchase in Euro on my Australian bank statement with the accompanying high charges? Or will it think Revolut is Australian? When I go into the currency list, Aud isn't there. I assume I'm going to get hammered with charges by my Australian account which sort of defeats the purpose of the entire service for me. It would just be cheaper to do what I'd previously been doing with Currencyfair.

As far as I can see, there is no option to top up an AUD balance using a debit card. This means that you would have to top up your EUR balance with it, and like you say, it would show up on your Australian bank statement as a euro purchase with your bank's exchange rate.

However, there is an option to top up an AUD balance by bank transfer, so you can do that, and when the money reaches your Revolut account you can exchange it for euros.

The AUD IBAN it's giving me is their Lloyds account in Canary Wharf. So I'm going to be hit with a GBP transfer fee plus a crappy exchange rate. I don't think there's any way to mitigate exchange charges unless I go third party with currency fair or transfer wise which as I said, defeats the whole purpose.

Interesting, seems incredibly useful if you're going the other way though.

It's an AUD account held in the UK, so no exchange is done. The only fee is whatever your bank charges for the transfer.

If this works, then great. When I open the app I have a euro balance and a sterling balance. If I transfer some money through my Aussie bank to that UK IBAN, will I then have an AUD balance as well?

carrotcake

troyzer wrote: »

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

carrotcake wrote: »

troyzer wrote: »

Can someone explain to me what happens if I top up using my Australian debit card?

I've fiddled around with it after just starting and I now have a euro balance and a sterling balance. Had no problem topping up with an Irish debit card and I'm taking up a job in a few weeks in Northern Ireland. With a bank account number that means I can get paid into my Sterling account, transfer instantly for next to nothing to my Euro IBAN for the weekends back in Dublin? Nifty idea.

However, I'm in Australia at the moment and currently getting paid into an Australian account. If I want to top up with my debit card, will this show up as a purchase in Euro on my Australian bank statement with the accompanying high charges? Or will it think Revolut is Australian? When I go into the currency list, Aud isn't there. I assume I'm going to get hammered with charges by my Australian account which sort of defeats the purpose of the entire service for me. It would just be cheaper to do what I'd previously been doing with Currencyfair.

As far as I can see, there is no option to top up an AUD balance using a debit card. This means that you would have to top up your EUR balance with it, and like you say, it would show up on your Australian bank statement as a euro purchase with your bank's exchange rate.

However, there is an option to top up an AUD balance by bank transfer, so you can do that, and when the money reaches your Revolut account you can exchange it for euros.

The AUD IBAN it's giving me is their Lloyds account in Canary Wharf. So I'm going to be hit with a GBP transfer fee plus a crappy exchange rate. I don't think there's any way to mitigate exchange charges unless I go third party with currency fair or transfer wise which as I said, defeats the whole purpose.

Interesting, seems incredibly useful if you're going the other way though.

It's an AUD account held in the UK, so no exchange is done. The only fee is whatever your bank charges for the transfer.

If this works, then great. When I open the app I have a euro balance and a sterling balance. If I transfer some money through my Aussie bank to that UK IBAN, will I then have an AUD balance as well?

Yep. Your AUD balance should then show up on the main screen when the payment arrives.

killbillvol2

troyzer wrote: »

The Revolut website is surprisingly dense and obtuse to get information from. It's something it has in common with other e-banks. They've spent a lot of resources offering services but it's very difficult to get a good grasp on what some of those services are. Even some people here show that, you CAN use Revolut as a normal bank in every circumstance except for direct debits. They're adding direct debit function later apparentely but right now you can have an IBAN which allows you to do 90% of what a normal bank offers.

You still couldn't use it as your only bank because there are too many reliability issues. If their payment processor is down and you don't have another card you're in trouble.

It's a handy backup and great for foreign exchange but that's it.

Yggr of Asgard

killbillvol2 wrote: »

You still couldn't use it as your only bank because there are too many reliability issues. If their payment processor is down and you don't have another card you're in trouble.

It's a handy backup and great for foreign exchange but that's it.

And don't overlook the most important part: It's not a bank, your money is converted to electronic money that is not as safe as money in a bank account.

Your funds are not guaranteed under the UK bank guarantee scheme (which not only guarantees funds but also time lines in which you get access to the funds). If they go bust you will have to wait a while to get your money back which sits in separate accounts but the process to get e-money back is really horrible.

And as killbillvol2 says, their payment processor GPS Global Processing Service (which most fintech companies use) has recently had several issue with both their Mastercard interface and their MultiFX service (for which Revolut is just a wrapper).

Revolut relies heavily on other providers like GPS, Wirecard, The Currency Cloud and other paymement providers. They effectively just wrap some software around other providers services to make it accessible in one place.

That does not mean, that they don't have a good product (and the recent customer service improvements are great) but it's not a replacement for a full bank account not just because it does not do direct debit at this time, but also because of issues with transfer of reference with payments (no end to end messages, no complete reference which might cause issues for the receiver etc.).

If and when they become a bank (similar to the transition N26 did) and offer other traditional bank services like direct debit you might consider it, but right now it's electronic money!

dohouch

Anybody mange to add any of these, either Lithuanian or GB individual accounts as a payee on a a KBC current account.

Duncanwooly

When Revolut added the Lithuanian IBANS, transfers used to happen quite quickly. Has anyone tried making a transfer to the new UK IBANS from the likes of bunq or N26 ?

frozenfrozen

tried this for the first time just earlier

topped up account, made virtual card, added that card to amazon.co.uk & bought an item. all went through OK and got the confirmation email etc,

but now on the revolut app it's saying Amazon UK retail 35 mins ago, pending 0 euro 0 pounds

will it update with the right amount or will it end up declining because it has got the wrong value (item was 141 pounds not 0)

thanks

September1

frozenfrozen wrote: »

tried this for the first time just earlier

topped up account, made virtual card, added that card to amazon.co.uk & bought an item. all went through OK and got the confirmation email etc,

but now on the revolut app it's saying Amazon UK retail 35 mins ago, pending 0 euro 0 pounds

will it update with the right amount or will it end up declining because it has got the wrong value (item was 141 pounds not 0)

thanks

Amazon will charge you only when they are about to ship item.

frozenfrozen

September1 wrote: »

Amazon will charge you only when they are about to ship item.

Great thanks and should I wonder about the pending amount being 0 rather than the cost of the item? Or will it correct itself when they are going to charge

Thanks

Duncanwooly

frozenfrozen wrote: »

Great thanks and should I wonder about the pending amount being 0 rather than the cost of the item? Or will it correct itself when they are going to charge

Thanks

I think the 0 amount is to validate the card if it's a new card on your account.

lehe8707

Duncanwooly wrote: »

When Revolut added the Lithuanian IBANS, transfers used to happen quite quickly. Has anyone tried making a transfer to the new UK IBANS from the likes of bunq or N26 ?

I did one from N26 to revolut IBAN.
Made transfer before lunch 11:12 and had it in the account and available after lunch 14:01 . I was very surprised

Duncanwooly

lehe8707 wrote: »

I did one from N26 to revolut IBAN.
Made transfer before lunch 11:12 and had it in the account and available after lunch 14:01 . I was very surprised

Was that to the new UK Iban ?

lehe8707

Duncanwooly wrote: »

Was that to the new UK Iban ?

Revolut
and the IBAN began with GB39REV

lehe8707

lehe8707 wrote: »

Revolut
and the IBAN began with GB39REV

Although I'd say the speed was due to N26 rather than revolut

Dermobrickie

What is the cheapest way to top up the card?

bpb101

Dermobrickie wrote: »

What is the cheapest way to top up the card?

In euros with a debit card or bank transfer (I prefer card as their now frr ans instant )

Aquos76

All methods are free to top up, I have added my debit card and that's instantly whenever I top up.

frozenfrozen

My first payment went through with them to amazon UK, saved around 7.50 euro

bpb101

Aquos76 wrote: »

All methods are free to top up, I have added my debit card and that's instantly whenever I top up.

No, not all are free.
If you top up by credit card you get charged and if you try and top up in dollars you are charged.

Aquos76

Ah yes, forgot the surcharge on CC top ups, my apologies.

Dermobrickie

Aquos76 wrote: »

All methods are free to top up, I have added my debit card and that's instantly whenever I top up.

Thanks was trying to top up earlier and it was charging me, then released I was topping up in US dollars 😂

-=al=-

Always top up in the currency of the card/account then change it yourself in the app. CC has a small fee and debit cards are free

Dermobrickie

-=al=- wrote: »

Always top up in the currency of the card/account then change it yourself in the app. CC has a small fee and debit cards are free

Sitting up all night has my head all over the place today couldn't figure it out ha

dohouch

Thinking about the premium card myself , and would like to know if anybody had gone from normal to premium and nolticed some difference in level/speed of support.
Thanks

---

Sinister Kid

I have a Revolut card, I used it a bit earlier in the year, topped it up (& spent) to the max €1000 then it asked for verification. I did what it asked & snapped a pic of my ID, it said pending verification... I forgot all about it.

Roll on a good 6 months later, I'm after checking the app just now. It still says Pending verification.
Has anyone else had issues like this?


I'm going to NY next month & thought I would take advantage of the good rate & change some money around. Otherwise I was thinking of getting an PostFX card...