Review: Revolut, your personal money cloud
Back in January I heard about a new startup based at Level39, Revolut.
In a nutshell, Revolut are trying to democratise foreign exchange. Killer features:
- Use the app to exchange money from £ to $, or euros at the interbank rate (the 'true' exchange rate, not pumped up by banks for profit)
- Send money to friends via Facebook, email or SMS in £/$/euros
- Spend money on a multi-currency card (yes, they give you a Mastercard!), so you can spend £/$/euros abroad
If you'd like to download the iOS app I've secured 10 invitation codes: use BAILEY to sign up (thanks Revolut team!).
So it's kind of TransferWise meets CaxtonFX meets Google Wallet.
Their tagline?
Revolut - Your personal money cloud
Intriguing, eh?
The concept of a 'personal money cloud' fits exactly with how I think people will bank in the future. A true 'FinTech bank' would provide bank accounts in a similar way to how Amazon Web Services provides server space. Third party financial services providers (TransferWise, anyone?) would then link into the core bank account via an API. For more on this, read Kantox CEO Philippe Gelis's excellent latest blog.
The App
In January, I joined the Revolut mailing list, hotly anticipating the app's launch.
Fast forward to last week. I finally got my hands on one of the tightly controlled invitation codes (don't worry, I have one for you), and downloaded the iOS app to my phone.
First impressions? It's a slick design and smooth onboarding experience. I chose to sign up via Facebook (the app doesn't request to post, or anything scary like that). I set up a passcode (the app helpfully asked me if I was sure that '1234' was secure enough- I had to agree with it that it was not!).
In around 3 or 4 screens I was through to my wallet dashboard:
It's pretty simple. I can upload money to Revolut using the icon on the right, which looks like an wallet with an upwards arrow. I used my debit card to load money here, but you can also use a bank transfer.
To send money to friends, click 'Send' at the bottom. The app asked to access my contacts, and when it pulled them through I could then choose to send money in £/$/euro to anyone via email or SMS.
Obviously to receive the cash, your friends need to sign up to Revolut too (so for now at least, they need to be an iPhone user).
The Killer Feature
For me, the real killer feature is the multi-currency card.
I'm off to New York in May, and the ability to easily transfer pounds into my Revolut wallet, then exchange them into dollars, THEN spend those dollars via a Mastercard (or take them out of a cash machine) is *awesome*.
It costs £5 to get the card printed and delivered, so I logged into the app and ordered it to arrive at home.
When it arrives (it should be here tomorrow), I can click 'Exchange', and change £100 into $147.54 (using the current interbank rate). Then, in New York, I can spend that money using the card or take out cash from an ATM.
Killer feature- don't you think?
The Company
As of February, Revolut are a Seedcamp funded business (congrats guys!), and are currently based out of Level39 in Canary Wharf.
Their current revenue model mimics that of a 'freemium' SAAS company- the first £500 worth of currency exchange is free from fees and at true interbank rate, then any exchanges after that incur a 1% markup, capped at £120 per year.
The team have a number of things planned on their immediate product roadmap. An Android version of the app is planned to go live in May, plus soon the Mastercards they issue will feature contactless payment technology.
Want to use it?
You might have missed it above, but if you do want to download the Revolut app you can use the invitation code BAILEY. Find out more on their website: revolut.com.
Let me know what you think of Revolut!
If you're confused about the term 'FinTech', I don't blame you! Why not read my blog 'What the FinTech?!' to get some context?
About me: I love what I do. I'm a Londoner working in FinTech, constantly learning and tackling new challenges every day. Read more at my blog, dailybailey.co.
Enterprise Architect | Storage, Backup, Cloud, Cybersecurity, ITIL Certificates
7moGreat copy! Just checked and they are around and doing well! They should ask you to write an update! :)
International Senior Banker,and Consultant/ 30 Years Global experience/ Non-Executive Director
8yWhen it works it's fine but support is non existent when you have problems of which I have recently had two. Chat dies not reply and I would hesitate to use it anymore unless I had an alternative with mr
Let's go for a drink?
8yHave they changed their pricing? Couldn't find anything regarding "the first £500 worth of currency exchange is free from fees and at true interbank rate, then any exchanges after that incur a 1% markup, capped at £120 per year.".
Enterprise Risk Manager at Worldline Merchant Services
9yGreat idea - really like the attempt to disrupt the financial services market so I signed up right away. However having used it - or tried to I have some massive reservations. When transferring money in my bank merged the "Your Reference", "Their Reference fields". I asked Revolut to investigate. 1 week later I am still nowhere and 5K Euros down. I had to route cash via traditional banking methods and it has cost me a lot in additional transfer fees. No offer of compensation from them. As ever with these startups it is all about the implementation - they have focussed on tech and as a result their customer service is catastrophically bad. Overall? Avoid