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Revolut vs Wise (ex. TransferWise). Which is for you?
If you have family, friends or business overseas, are planning a holiday or even an international move then you likely have spent some time wondering what the best way to exchange and store foreign currency is.
There are many possible answers to this question including the mainstream Australian banks, online neobanks, foreign currency specialists and prepaid currency cards.
In this article we’re going to take a look at two of the possible options for Australian customers - Wise (ex TransferWise) and Revolut. We’ll explore what these companies do, the products they offer and how their fees, exchange rates and public reviews compare.
| 💸 Hold over 50 currencies in your account and spend at the real exchange rate with the Wise card while abroad. |
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Learn more about the
Wise Multi-currency account
(Transfer)Wise vs Revolut introduction
To start off, let’s take a closer look at who Revolut and Wise are and what they do in Australia.
Who is Revolut?
Founded in 2015, Revolut joined the Australian market in 2019 offering financial services to individuals and businesses. Today these services include foreign currency exchange, international payments and options for investments.
Who is Wise (ex TransferWise)?
Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, is an international payments specialist that offers money transfer services and multi currency accounts to private Australian customers as well as Australian businesses. It was launched in 2011 and is used in countries around the globe.
Revolut vs Wise — Main product offerings
In terms of products offered by Revolut and Wise, there are some similarities in what they offer. Here are some of the main services Australians can access.
| Product | Revolut | Wise |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign currency account | The Revolut account comes in three tiers.²
| Private and business customers can open a Wise Multi Currency account |
| Send money | Send money to supported countries in 27+ currencies.³ | Send money to 80 different countries around the globe. |
| Store money | Using a Revolut account you can store 27 currencies.³ | Using the Wise Multi Currency account you can store 53 currencies. |
| Local account details | With Revolut you’ll receive local account details for AUD.⁴ | With the Wise Multi Currency account you’ll receive local account details for AUD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, SGD, RON, CAD, HUF and TRY. |
| Debit card | The Revolut card attaches to the Revolut account.² Metal cards and virtual cards are available. | The Wise Debit card attaches to the Multi currency account. Virtual cards are available. |
As seen on 4 October 2022
Revolut vs Wise — Fees
One of the key considerations when choosing a financial provider is the fees. To make it easy for you to compare, here’s a breakdown of some of the main fees that Revolut and Wise charge for their services in Australia. All the amounts are in Australian Dollars (AUD).
| Service | Revolut | Wise |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign currency transfers | Fee for transferring funds to a bank account + a percentage based fee for foreign currency exchange⁵ | Small payout fee + a variable conversion fee of around 0.45%. You can make a fee calculation here. |
| Monthly account fees | Standard plan⁵ Free Premium plan⁶ $10.99/month or $110/year Metal plan⁷ $24.99/month or $250/year | No monthly account fees and just a 20 GBP equivalent deposit for private customers to receive local account details. |
| Card replacement and delivery | Standard plan⁵ 1 free card. Replacement cards are $8.99 + $9.99 for standard or $33.99 for express delivery. Premium plan⁶ 2 free cards. Replacement cards are $24.99. Metal plan⁷ 2 free cards including 1 free metal card. Replacement cards are $24.99 or $79.99 for metal. | $10 for the first card then $6 for replacement cards. Optional express delivery is available from $26. |
| ATM Withdrawals | Free withdrawals up to the monthly allowance available on your plan. $350 for the Standard plan⁵ $750 for the Premium plan⁶ $1400 for the Metal plan⁷ Any withdrawals above the monthly free allowance incur a fee of 2% of the transaction value. | You can take out money for free twice a month — as long as the total amount is under $350 AUD. After that, there is a $1.50 AUD per transaction fixed fee. If you take out over $350 AUD in one month, there is a 1.75% on the amount exceeding that. |
As seen on 5 October 2022
Revolut vs Wise — Exchange rates used
When making an international transfer you want to be able to exchange your money using the best rate with the lowest fees. Here’s a look at the exchange rates used by Revolut and Wise, and whether they apply fees.
| Revolut | Wise |
|---|---|
| With Revolut your money is exchanged using the real exchange rate.¹² For some currencies there is a markup and a markup is also applied on the weekends. | Wise also uses the real exchange rate but you don’t have to worry about any markups as there aren’t any. |
As seen on 5 October 2022
Revolut vs Wise — Supported currencies and routes
With Revlout and Wise there are certain currencies and transfer routes that are supported and others that aren’t. Here’s an overview of what they both can do.
| Service | Revolut | Wise |
|---|---|---|
| Sending currencies | 43 including AUD, EUR, NZD, JPY and USD.⁸ See the rest here. | 53 including AUD, CNY, EUR, NZD, JPY and USD. Check out the full list here |
| Receiving currencies | 27 available currencies⁹ AED, AUD, BGN, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HRK, HUF, ILS, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, QAR, RON, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, ZAR | 53 available currencies including AED, AUD, BGN, BRL, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HRK, HUF, ILS, IDS, INR, JPY, MXN, MYR, NOK, NZD, PLN, RON, TRY, SEK, SGD, USD You can see the rest here |
| Local account details | AUD⁴ | AUD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD, SGD, RON, CAD, HUF and TRY. |
As seen on 5 October 2022
When looking at the supported currencies keep in mind that there are some routes that aren’t available. For example, at the time of publishing Revolut didn’t allow USD to EUR to be transferred to St Maarten or VND to be transferred out of Vietnam.⁸
Also there are certain countries that Wise and Revolut⁸ don’t allow transfers to. This list can vary depending on current world events and can be found on their individual websites.
Money transfer speed
The speed a transfer happens at varies depending on the currency, day of the week and destination country. Here’s a general idea of how long a money transfer from Australia can take with Revolut and Wise.
| Revolut³ | Wise |
|---|---|
| Payments to other Revolut users are instant. International transfers can take up to 5 business days. | Payments to other Wise users are instant. International transfer times vary from instant up to 5 business days depending on factors like the payment method, verification requirements and bank transfer times. |
As seen on 5 October 2022
Transfer pay in and pay out methods
Here’s the pay in and payout options Revolut and Wise have for Australian customers.
| Revolut | Wise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in options¹⁰ | External card Apple Pay Google Pay Bank transfer | Debit card Credit card Bank transfer PayID POLi Wise Balance |
| Payout options¹¹ | Bank account External card | Bank account |
As seen on 5 October 2022
Pros and cons of using these services
Here’s an overview of some of the pros and cons of using Revolut or Wise as an Aussie.
| Revolut | Wise | |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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What about safety?
The good news is that Wise and Revolut are both regulated services with safeguards in place to protect your money.
In Australia they’re authorised by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and Australian Financial Services Licences (AFSL).
- Revolut Australia - AFSL number 517589¹
- Wise Australia - AFSL number 513764
Online reviews for Revolut and Wise in Australia
Taking a look online, customers have left reviews for Wise and Revolut so let’s see how they compare.
| Revolut reviews | Wise reviews |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot Australia¹⁴ Revolut is rated 4.3 out of 5 stars | Trustpilot Australia¹³ Wise is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Product Review¹⁶ Revolut scored 1.4 stars | Product Review¹⁵ Wise scored 2.3 stars |
As seen on 5 October 2022
Customer support and contacts
If you want to get in touch with Revolut or Wise to chat about their Australian services you can reach out using these details.
| Revolut | Wise |
|---|---|
Wrapping up
At the end of the day it really comes down to your circumstances and personal preference as to whether Wise or Revolut is the right option for you.
Focused on making things simpler for customers, Wise has a single account from which you can manage your AUD and foreign currencies. There’s no hidden fees or exchange rate markups to worry about and having 53 available currencies and account details for 10 of those is really handy if you want to send and receive money like a local.
On the other hand, the variety of services Revolut offers means it might be more useful if you want something for general money management. By having three different plans you gain the freedom to choose whether you want to use the free plan or pay a fee to get extra perks.
If you want to give Wise a try to see for yourself how well it can work for you, sign up for a free account. Registration can be done online in minutes.
Register your Wise account in minutes
Sources:
- Revolut - About us
- Revolut - Pricing plans
- Revolut - International payments
- Revolut - Which local account details are available for me?
- Revolut - Personal Fees
- Revolut - Personal Fees (Premium)
- Revolut - Personal Fees (Metal)
- Revolut - Where can I send transfers, what currency can I use?
- Revolut - What currencies are supported for holding and exchange?
- Revolut - Which payment methods does Revolut support?
- Revolut - Which cards can I send money to?
- Revolut - What foreign exchange rate will I get?
- Trustpilot - Wise (Formerly Transferwise)
- Trustpilot - Revolut
- Product Review - Wise
- Product Review - Revolut
Sources checked on: 03 October 2022
*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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