Can I keep my Swiss bank account when I leave Switzerland?
Read our handy guide on if you can keep your bank account in Switzerland if you move abroad? Find out everything you need to know.
Revolut1 offers flexible multi-currency account and card services for UK personal and business customers, allowing you to manage your money with nothing more than your phone or laptop.
If you’re considering signing up with Revolut, this guide is for you. Join us as we explore how to open a Revolut account, for both personal and business use. Plus, some handy tips on types of Revolut accounts and who is eligible to open one.
To help you decide if Revolut is right for you, we’ll also touch on an alternative - the Wise account which offers a convenient, affordable way to hold, exchange, spend, send and receive money internationally, through the Wise app and desktop site.
Learn more about the Wise account
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Revolut offers UK customers a selection of personal and business account options which cover different plans which have their own features and costs. As well as adult accounts there are also Revolut <18 accounts which are designed for children, and which are issued with an adult acting as a joint account holder.
If you’re not a resident in the UK, you may well still be able to open a Revolut account with the Revolut entity in your home country - terms, conditions, features and fees may vary slightly if you’re located in a different country though, so do double check the rules based on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown of the types of account you can get with Revolut in the UK.
Revolut Personal accounts are available in 5 different plans2:
There’s no ongoing fee for the Standard plan, making this a low risk way to test out the services you get with Revolut. You can also choose to trade up to one of the other plans, which each have monthly fees, from 3.99 GBP/month for Plus, right up to 45 GBP/month for Ultra.
Revolut personal account plans each have their own features - typically the higher the monthly fee, the more features and no-fee transactions you can unlock.
Once you have your personal account open with Revolut you can add in pro features or make it a joint account. More on Revolut pro, next.
If you have a Revolut personal account you can not use it for business purposes. However, if you’re looking for a simple account to manage your income from a side hustle or from doing some part time freelance work, you may not think it’s necessary to open a full Revolut business account. This is where Revolut pro3 comes in. Revolut pro accounts offer simplified business features compared to the full Revolut business account plan, and can be used by individuals who work as freelancers and sole traders.
You can only apply for this account once you have already been signed up with a Revolut personal account.
Revolut business accounts in the UK are aimed at people with registered business entities4. As with personal accounts, there are several different choices of account plan:
There’s no monthly fee for the Basic account, or you can trade up to Grow for 19 GBP/month, or scale for 79 GBP/month. Enterprise plans are fully customisable based on business needs.
The final type of Revolut account for UK customers is the <18 account5 which is for children aged 6 to 17 years old. To sign up, you’ll need to have a parent or guardian approve the account, and they’ll then retain some access and oversight. Revolut <18 accounts offer some features designed to appeal particularly to younger people including social features and customisable cards.
As with any licensed financial service provider, there are some important eligibility rules to consider when you sign up to Revolut in the UK. Let's take a look.
You can open a UK Revolut personal account if you’re aged 18 or older, and resident in the UK6.
The other conditions for opening a Revolut personal account are as follows:
As we saw earlier, if you do want to use Revolut for some limited business functions as a freelancer or sole trader, you can also add pro features to your personal account. This isn’t the same as opening a full business account, and is a service available on application within the app only.
Revolut business accounts are intended for registered business owners and sole traders who need more extensive business features7. You can not use a Revolut business account for personal purposes.
You’ll be able to open a Revolut business account in the UK as long as:
Revolut does have other conditions around the types of business it can offer accounts to - mainly concerning restricted industry types. Double check the terms and conditions of Revolut’s accounts if you’re in any doubt about your eligibility to apply.
To open a Revolut personal account you’ll be asked for:
Assuming you have all this to hand, here's how to sign up for a Revolut personal account:
To sign up for Revolut business you’ll need to make sure you have all the following:
Once you’ve gathered all the required information you can head over to the Revolut website and tap sign up from the business pages. You’ll be guided through the steps to take which include:
According to the Revolut website, you can sign up for your account in just a few minutes. It can sometimes take a little longer to receive confirmation of the identity verification process, anywhere up to 24 hours or more.
Revolut offers a quick and easy way to get international account and card services for yourself or your business, but remember that it isn’t the only game in town.
Compare your options with Revolut against the Wise account which has no monthly fees to worry about, a Wise debit card for low-cost spending in countries, and lets you hold currencies at once. Accounts come with local and SWIFT details to receive payments in select foreign currencies, and physical and virtual cards for online, in person and mobile spending.
When it comes to managing your money across borders, you can count on Wise for low, transparent fees* and the mid-market exchange rate whenever you need to convert from one currency to another8. Plus you can track all your transactions and manage your money using the Wise mobile app.
There are special features for businesses, such as making bulk payments in just a few clicks, and smart cloud accounting integrations to save on admin. Use your Wise Business account to get paid through PSPs and marketplaces using local account details, and manage supplier and contractor payments to 160+ countries with ease.
If you’ve not registered your business in the UK just yet, check out the Wise Business company formation solution, where you can create a limited company in the UK and open a Wise Business multi-currency account in one go. Easy.
And there you have it - all the info you need to help you apply for a Revolut account. We’ve covered how it works for both personal and business accounts, and roughly how long you can expect it to take.
Don’t forget to also take a look at alternatives to Revolut, like Wise, to check you’re choosing the perfect account for your personal needs.
Sources used:
Sources last checked on date: 17-DEC-2024
*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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