Revolut - The money revolution is here!
Not long ago, I moved from my hometown of Skopje - Macedonia, to Amsterdam. Just like with small traveling, this big move required that I take some money with me here. Since I was planning on staying at least a year, I would need to bring money from Skopje either on hand and deposit it here, or do a bank transfer. So I looked at the 2 options: The first was very unsafe, one bad encounter with a junkie and a lot of my savings could disappear, and the second, more-safe method, meant that I needed to pay large bank transfer fees to get the money from Skopje to Amsterdam.
There must be a solution?
What about PayPal? Skrill? All had fees… Then, thanks to a couple of very informed friends (darko and Mitco), I heard about Revolut. Now to make this clear, this is not a sponsored post in any way, I just really love their service :)
Meet the awesome money app
So, an app for iPhone and Android did what no one else could do: Enable me to send money to my friends anywhere in the world, give me a physical MasterCard so I can pay with the money on the account and withdraw money from ATMs with no fee, as well as pay with the lowest currency exchange.
A lot to take in? Well, let me explain.
- Send money to friends — Yes, PayPal and others have this option, but PayPal is restricted in so many countries (Macedonians can’t withdraw money, just pay). Revolut lets you add money to the account using any credit/debit cards, and adds them instantly. Then just send them to friends via the app, even to those who don’t yet have an account.
- Get a physical MasterCard — This is the thing that got me hooked the most, you get a card that is connected to your account. Control the balance of the card via the app, and use it in the field, anywhere MasterCard is accepted.
- Withdraw money from ATMs with NO fees — Yeah, this is the killer deal! I managed to add money to the account, and withdraw it from a random ATM in the Netherlands, no fee what-so-ever.
- Pay with the lowest exchange rates — So your account has currencies at the same time: you can add Euros, Dollars and Pounds. They stay separate, and you can exchange one to the other with low inter-bank rates. If you need to pay somewhere in the US, the amount taken from the card is exchanged with the same rates as on Google.
So, all around it’s a great deal. Well, at least for 12 months after signup. So far there is no notice of any price/business model, but they say that they guarantee it being like this for at least 12 months after your signup. I dug up online that one of their business plans includes limits to 500 pounds per exchange and transfer and if you need more you invite friends or get a premium subscription, but this is from an old pitch deck that is not mentioned anywhere on the site.
In the end
Revolut is a great service, try it out now, and maybe you can save a dollar or two like I did :)
