Revolut alternatives in Ireland: 5 options you need to know

Revolut is a neobank used by over 28 million people around the globe.² Since it’s a neobank, Revolut’s services are exclusively offered through digital mediums, with no physical branches.

While it’s quite a popular choice in Ireland, Revolut isn’t necessarily the right solution for everyone. Thinking about your circumstances, you might find other neobanks or financial tech companies that are more tailored to what you’re looking for.

In this guide, we will share some of the Revolut alternatives in Ireland, including Wise. We’ll give you a quick snapshot of who they are and the pros and cons.

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How does Revolut work in Ireland?

In Ireland, Revolut offers personal, business, company and under 18 accounts. Here’s some of the services offered to personal Irish Revolut account holders¹:

• Payments
• Cards
• Currency exchange
• International transfers
• Budgeting and analytic tools

When signing up to Revolut there are four personal plans to choose from¹:

• Revolut Standard: No monthly fee
• Revolut Plus: €2.99 per month
• Revolut Premium: €7.99 per month
• Revolut Metal: €13.99 per month

Like all banking options there are pros and cons to using Revolut:

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
Free and paid plan options available Allowances for fee free weekday currency exchanges 29 currencies available through the app Physical and virtual card available Offers Irish IBAN	Fees apply on ATM withdrawals outside free limit Standard accounts don’t get 24/7 priority customer support Extra fees for weekend currency exchanges Limited to EUR and GBP local account details¹³

Revolut alternatives in Ireland

While there are many alternatives to Revolut in Ireland, we’re just going to take a look at these six:

• N26
• Tomorrow
• Bunq
• Wise
• Monese
• Vivid Money

Let’s see if any of them sound appealing to you.

N26

Founded in 2013, N26 has 8 million customers and it's well regarded by leading financial publications including Forbes.³ They offer four account tiers to choose from.⁴

• N26 Standard: No monthly fee
• N26 Smart: €4.90 per month
• N26 You: €9.90 per month
• N26 Metal: €16.90 per month

Pros⁴ ✅	Cons⁴ ❌
Virtual cards available No foreign transaction fees for card payments Able to buy and sell almost 200 crypto coins with N26 Crypto Free cash withdrawals in Europe at partner retailers	Only the accounts with monthly fees come with physical cards The 2 cheaper accounts have no allowance for free ATM withdrawals abroad Limited to Euro account details

🔎 Read more: How to open a Revolut account in Ireland

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a sustainability focused financial tech company.⁵ Unlike some of their competitors, they don’t hold their own banking licence. Instead, they’re supported by Solaris SE who in turn have a licence regulated by the German financial authorities.

Tomorrow offer three digital banking accounts:⁶

• Now: €3.00 per month
• Change: €7.00 per month
• Zero: €15.00 per month

Pros⁶ ✅	Cons⁶ ❌
Access to a free Visa debit card Zero account comes with free ATM withdrawals worldwide Options to deposit cash Passive and active ways to support the environment with your account	Reliant on another company for their banking licence⁵ Now account has a €2 fee for all cash withdrawals at ATMs and partner stores No €0 monthly account fee option available

Bunq

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Bunq was the first neobank operating in Ireland to offer Irish IBAN numbers.⁷ They have four different account plans available:⁸

• Easy Savings: No monthly fee
• Easy Bank: €2.99 per month
• Easy Money: €8.99 per month
• Easy Green: €17.99 per month

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
In store deposits are possible for some account types Easy Money and Easy Green have access to multiple currency banking and local IBANs Passive and active way to help the environment through your account	Virtual cards and some foreign currency banking features aren’t available on Easy Savings or Easy Bank accounts Limited or no free ATM withdrawals Easy Savings account is basic, doesn't offer cards

Wise

Launched in 2011, Wise was created based on a desire to provide people with a cheaper, fairer and simpler way to make international money transfers. Wise is an alternative provider that offers a range of different features used by 16 millions of customers around the world.

To keep things simple, Wise has one account option.

• Wise Account: No monthly fee

Pros ✅	Cons ❌
Hold and convert 40+ currencies through a single account Access to local account details in 9 currencies Currency exchanges at the mid-market rate No transaction fees for spending with your Wise card abroad Physical and Virtual card available	No options to deposit cash Limited to one physical card for personal accounts Fees apply on ATM withdrawals outside free limit

Something else that’s interesting to know about Wise is that other neobanks including Bunq⁸ and N26⁹ use Wise's infrastructure to send money abroad. Wise is also trusted by 16 million consumers and businesses to send, spend and manage money internationally.

Open your Wise Account
for free 🚀

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

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Monese

In 2015 Monese became the first mobile banking app alternative available in the UK market.¹⁰ Fast forward to now and it’s used by over two million people across Europe.

Monese has three personal accounts for individuals¹¹:

• Simple: No monthly fee
• Classic: €5.95 per month
• Premium: €14.95 per month

Pros¹¹ ✅	Cons¹¹ ❌
Possible to set up direct debit and recurring payments All accounts can come with a contactless debit card Virtual cards can be generated Joint accounts available	Up to 3% fees on international transfers Accounts only available in EUR, RON and GBP Priority support is only offered to Premium customers

Vivid Money

Vivid is a German fintech company that relies on Solaris SE for their banking licence like their competitor Tomorrow does.¹² They offer two plans for customers looking for an online banking account.

• Vivid Standard: No monthly fee for active accounts or €3.90 per month the account is inactive
• Vivid Prime: 1 month free then €9.90 per month

Pros¹² ✅	Cons¹² ❌
Different IBAN’s available for pocket accounts Up to 107 currencies available in separate pockets Cashback opportunities	Limited to Euro account details from Spain, Germany or Italy Additional fees for virtual cards Live help not available for Vivid Standard customers

FAQ - Alternatives to Revolut in Ireland

What is the best alternative to Revolut in Ireland? 🧐

Which option is the best alternative to Revolut in Ireland really depends on you and your needs. Here’s some of the things you may want to consider.

• If the foreign currency and international transfer features suit you
• How often you withdraw and deposit cash
• Whether you’re prepared to pay monthly account fees
• If you want access to physical and virtual cards

Revolut vs Wise: Which one should you choose?

Wise or Revolut - the choice is up to you. With Revolut there are 29 in-app currencies, you get Euro and GBP account details and you can choose a plan that suits you.¹

Meanwhile, with Wise you hold and convert money in 40+ currencies, get local account details for 9 of those and there are no monthly account fees.

When it comes to foreign currency exchanges there’s also a bit of a difference with how Wise and Revolut handle things.

Revolut charges a 0.50% fee for exchanges outside of the free allowances (for Standard and Plus plans) plus a 1% markup fee for currency exchanges that take place on weekends, between 5pm Friday and 6pm Sunday, New York time.¹⁴

With Wise there is no markup on the currency conversion, it doesn't matter when you do your transaction. You pay a flat fee, plus a variable fee that starts from 0.43% depending on the currency route.

If you’re thinking Wise sounds good or you’re still on the fence, why not just give it a try? There’s no sign up or monthly account fees to worry about and it might just be the right solution for you.

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Sources used:

1. Revolut - Choose your plan
2. Revolut - About
3. N26 - About
4. N26 - Compare N26 bank accounts
5. Tomorrow - About
6. Tomorrow - Tomorrow accounts
7. Irish Times - Dutch fintech Bunq vies for Ulster Bank and KBC account holders
8. Bunq - Let’s find the plan for you
9. N26 - How to make transfers in foreign currencies?
10. Monese - About
11. Monese - Our Pricing
12. Vivid - Compare
13. Revolut - What account details are available for me
14. Revolut - Will I be charged for exchanging foreign currencies?

Sources last checked on date: 9 May 2023