Recently, there were many changes at Revolut. Perhaps the most significant is the that the Revolut card can now have a unique IBAN number. This means you can receive funds from anyone, even from Transferwise!
But why is it so important that you can upload the account with Transferwise?
At first, because it is not possible to top up with Forint, and second because we can get a much better exchange rate than if we were using our own bank card with bank exchange rates, or transferring money by wire transfer and using bank foreign exchange rates plus paying the high price of international money transfer.
What is the cost of Revolut card? €6 for the card plus €6 for shipment. So, for €12 you can get Prepaid MasterCard for 3 years, with no other costs.
What kind of benefits do you get via the Revolut card?
- Better exchange rates mean, that it is cheaper to go shopping abroad (Transferwise)
- You can Disable/Freeze and re-enable/Unfreeze your card at any time via the Mobile app
- Virtual Card for Online Shopping (Free)
- Internationally accepted IBAN bank account number
- UK local account number to receive GBP funds
- Monthly total of 200 € free cash withdrawals (any number of withdrawals are available anywhere in the world within the limit, after that you have to pay 2%)
I did not think that such a fintech company can become such a important player, but they are slowly providing banking level services. So far, they have 700,000 users.
So if you travel a lot, I think it’s worth to keep such a card, and not ask for expensive EUR card at a Hungarian bank. Read more about Revolut.
How I use the card?
- I use Transferwise to top up my Revolut account. (Transferwise has a Hungarian local bank account number, so I can transfer Forint without any banking fees)
- Revolut Virtual Card for Online Shopping (webshop, online services)
- Revolut Physical card for card payments abroad
- Revolut Physical card to withdraw minimal local currency cash (just enough to drink, have a simple meal, so I do have to go to a local currency exchange office for cash)
What’s the problem with Revolut IBAN account?
In the case you send money by wire transfer from your Revolut account, the reference is not your private IBAN number, but a central Revolut bank account number. Last time the sender was The Currency Cloud Ltd and not me. I received the money from a Finnish bank account number. Transferwise works the same way, they have the same problem.
UPDATE 08.10:
Today, I have also ceased my EUR account at my local bank – CIB, I see no reason to keep it. I am not going to use my CIB bank card for foreign purchases in the future, I have the Revolut card for that.