Revolut Ltd is an electronic money institution that allows freelancers, sole traders and companies to accept international payments. This post contains an affiliate link.

About Revolut

Established in 2015 as a digital payments service, Revolut Ltd is an electronic money institution registered in England and Wales and is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Revolut is a fintech company and not a traditional bank so it doesn’t have physical branches and is authorised to process transactions and currency exchanges. Deposits are safeguarded with a tier one UK bank to comply with e-money regulations.

Revolut has a licenced European entity in Lithuania regulated by the Bank of Lithuania for non-UK customers based in the EU. Funds are safeguarded in tier-one banks within the EEA.

In 2018 Revolut was granted an EU banking licence by the European Central Bank. The plan is to acquire a UK banking licence in the future.

Revolut offers many of the features of a business bank account with the properties of a digital wallet.

How Revolut Works

Revolut offers business accounts to companies, freelancers and sole traders, to help manage their business income and expenditure. Revolut offers:

• Same day remote onboarding
• Free accounts
• Instant accounts in 28 currencies
• International transfers at the Interbank FX rate
• Unlimited corporate cards (physical and virtual cards)
• An end-to-end solution with integrated expense management software and accounting services like Xero, FreeAgent and QuickBooks

Revolut business accounts offer end-to-end expense management allowing businesses to automate bulk payments, regardless of business size or payment amount.

Business loans are also available on a limited basis.

Users can access their accounts and manage transactions via the Revolut mobile app and Revolut’s web interface.

Business Accounts with Revolut

Revolut has four types of plans, including a free plan. All plans come with unlimited payments to other Revolut accounts.

The interbank exchange rate is provided for most currencies during weekdays. A fee (0.5%) is applied over the weekend and other public holidays.

• The Free account comes with 5 free local transfers, £3 per international transfer and 0.4% markup on FX at interbank rate.
• The Grow account priced at £25 per month comes with 100 free local transfers, 10 free international transfers (£3 thereafter) and a £10K allowance of FX at interbank rate (0.4% markup thereafter).
• The Scale account priced at £100 per month comes with 1000 free local transfers, 50 free international transfers (£3 thereafter) and a £50K allowance of FX at interbank rate (0.4% markup thereafter).
• The Enterprise account priced at £1,000 per month comes with unlimited free local transfers, unlimited free international transfers and an unlimited allowance of FX at interbank rate.

Freelance Accounts with Revolut

Freelancers accepting international payments can choose between two plans.

• The Free plan includes unlimited free payments to other Revolut accounts, 5 free local transfers, £3 per international transfer and a 0.4% markup on the FX at interbank rate.
• The Professional plan priced at £7 per month includes unlimited free payments to other Revolut accounts, 20 free local transfers, 5 free international transfer (£3 thereafter) and a £5,000 free allowance on the FX at interbank rate (0.4% markup thereafter).

Opening a Revolut Business Account

To open a business account with Revolut you will need to register online using your business email address and filling out an online form. The set up should take between one and seven days.

If you are planning to register for a Revolut account, you can use this link (affiliate).

Requirements

To be able to open a Revolut business account you need:

• a company registered in the EEA or Switzerland or to be registered as a sole trader
• a picture of photo ID such as a passport or identity card for each user and the business owner (or owners)
• details of your date of birth and personal address
• a recent digital photo of yourself (to check against ID document)
• as an optional requirement, proof of the company’s registered address or other company information if an electronic business search doesn’t return sufficient information.

Perks

Business accounts come with a number of perks including:

• credit for Google Ads
• discounts for collaborative apps, insurance, CRM
• credit for corporate travel and legal advice
• cashback on food delivery.