Revolut Business vs Personal: What is the Right Choice for UK Businesses?

If you’re a freelancer, sole proprietor or small business owner you might be wondering whether it’s worth getting a business account to make it easier to manage your company finances.

Having a business account allows you to separate your personal and business funds - and often comes with additional perks to cut costs and admin, too.

This guide walks through how a Revolut account for personal use differs from a Revolut business account, including the Revolut business account fees and features you’ll want to know about. We’ll also highlight an alternative - the Wise Business account - as a comparison.

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What is Revolut?

Revolut¹ is a financial technology company which offers both personal and business account products for people in the UK and a selection of other countries and regions around the world.

Both personal and business customers can choose a Revolut account with no monthly fees, or upgrade to an account which has a monthly charge, but which comes with additional features and more fee free transactions and services.

All Revolut accounts are able to hold and exchange 30+ currencies, and come with linked cards for spending and withdrawals around the world.

Revolut is well loved by its customers, and gets a good rating on Trustpilot, with 4.3 stars out of 5, from 123,000+ reviews².

Is Revolut a bank?

Revolut is not a licensed bank in the UK. However, it’s registered and licensed by the FCA under UK electronic money regulations, making it a safe provider to use³.

Revolut does actually hold a banking licence for some other regions, including the EEA, and was reported to be applying for the same in the UK too. As a business which offers services internationally, it’s overseen by a range of authorities aside from the FCA, which helps keep your money safe no matter what currency you hold.

Is Revolut safe?

Yes. Revolut is a safe provider for the services it offers.

In the UK, Revolut is overseen by the FCA, like most banks and financial service providers. This means it must comply with strict security rules, including safeguarding customer funds, by holding all customer balances in top tier banks, separate from its own working capital. In addition, Revolut has robust verification, security and anti-fraud measures, including manual and automatic processes, which run 24/7 to keep customers and their accounts safe.

Revolut Business vs Personal - what is the difference?

Revolut personal and business accounts offer different features which make them more suited to different customer needs.

Revolut personal accounts offer all you need to manage your own personal finances day to day, and across 30+ different currencies.

Revolut business accounts have many overlapping features, but with some extra perks to make life easier for freelancers, sole proprietors and small business owners. You’ll be able to integrate your Revolut business account with your favourite cloud accounting software, for example, or use your Revolut account to get paid online and in person by customers and clients.

If you have your own business, getting a specific business account can make life easier, by separating your personal and company finances for simple reporting, analysis and tax compliance.

Revolut - and alternative options like the Wise Business account - offer accounts with no ongoing fees, which you can use as and when you need to, for simple, streamlined ways to manage your business finances day to day.

Revolut account - overview

✅ Good for: Expats and people who travel constantly. Revolut's personal account options suit anyone looking to manage their money across 30+ currencies, with different payment plans depending on usage

Revolut personal accounts come with free standard plan options which may suit a customer who needs a limited number of transactions, and several account tiers which have higher monthly fees with extra features and additional fee free transactions. These account plans would suit customers who make more frequent transactions, and anyone who exchanges currency frequently for international payments and withdrawals.

Revolut’s key features sit around low cost currency exchange and international spending, with options to save and earn interest on funds held in GBP, USD and EUR. As a mobile first platform it also offers easy ways to manage your money on the move with an intuitive customer interface.

Revolut fees

With Revolut account you’ll be able to pick from a range of plans to find one which suits your requirements. Standard accounts don’t have any ongoing charges, or you can upgrade to a fee paying account to unlock more features. Here’s a rundown of the key features you can expect from the different account tiers:

Revolut Business account - overview

✅ Good for: Companies doing business across borders. Revolut business account comes with fee free options which may suit freelancers and new business owners, right through to custom account packages for enterprise level customers

Revolut business account has many of the multi-currency features of the personal account, plus extras which make life easier as a business owner, like ways to get paid online and invoicing tools to manage client payments.

As with the personal account plans you can pick a basic account which doesn’t have so many features, but which still offers 30+ currencies to hold and exchange, or upgrade to a fee paying tier for more fee free transactions.

Revolut Business pricing

Let’s take a look at the different account features and fees on offer from Revolut business accounts.

Revolut Business account fees

Revolut business account plans may come with some fee free transactions, depending on the specific plan you select. However, once your fee free allowance is exhausted, fair usage fees apply.

One important fee to highlight is the Revolut out of hours currency exchange fee. This means that if you switch from one currency to another within your account or for a payment, outside of market hours, you’ll pay a premium of 0.5% - 2%.

As with any account product it’s important to read all the account terms and conditions carefully before you sign up for Revolut business. Here are some highlights to know about.

Wise Business Account: alternative to Revolut

Before you make the leap and open a Revolut business account, compare your options against the Wise Business account.

Like Revolut, Wise Business account have been built for companies with a global outlook, with easy ways to hold, exchange, send, spend and receive multiple currencies.

You can open a Wise Business account online or in the Wise app for a low one-time fee, to hold and exchange 40+ currencies, send payments to 140+ countries, and get linked debit and expense cards for you and your team, to spend and withdraw in 150+ countries.

Wise Business has no ongoing fees, and offers local account details for 8+ currencies which allow you to get paid like a local - perfect if you have customers and clients abroad.

Wise has an Excellent 4.5 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, from an enormous 184,000+ customer reviews.⁷

Wise Business account fees

Wondering what a Wise Business account will cost? Here are the highlights.

Open Wise Business account

Get started with your Wise Business account today, with a low one-time fee of £45, and no ongoing charges. You’ll also be able to order linked debit and expense cards for just £3 each - with no monthly subscription to worry about.

Use your account to pay staff, suppliers and contractors overseas, with low transfer fees from 0.41% and the mid-market exchange rate. And get your own local account details to let customers and clients pay you easily in their currencies.

No hassle, and no hidden fees - just easy ways to pay and get paid, globally.

Get started with Wise Business

If you’re a UK business owner, sole proprietor or freelancer, having a dedicated business account is a smart move - and digital providers can often offer low fees for feature packed account options. Check out the Revolut business account options available, and compare them against alternatives like the Wise Business account to get the perfect match for your needs.

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Sources last checked January 26, 2023