Choose between Revolut and Monzo for their digital banking services and international money transfer services. This comparison focuses primarily on their money transfer capabilities. Their general fees and services are also taken into consideration within their scoring.
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Revolut provides digital banking and international money transfer services for personal customers from different countries.
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Monzo provides digital banking solutions for residents of the UK.
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Businesses signing up with Revolut can receive multiple benefits.
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Businesses registered in the UK may sign up for Monzo business accounts.
Similar to services for individuals. Revolut offers multi-currency receiving accounts which would be very useful for cross border businesses. Revolut also offers more choices for SaaS accounting integration. Again, Monzo’s international money transfers are provided by Wise and accessible within the Monzo app.
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When you use your Revolut card to make international transactions, you could benefit by getting existing interbank rates. Revolut fees depend on the type of account you open and where you live. As you will see to get the best out of Revolut for international transactions, you need to choose a monthly subscription plan to match your forecasted monthly international money transactions volume, and most importantly.. don't use Revolut on the weekends for currency conversions! Read on to see why…
| Region | Account type | Monthly subscription fee |
| The US | Standard | $0 |
| Premium | $9.99 | |
| Metal | $16.99 | |
| The UK | Standard | £0 |
| Premium | £6.99 | |
| Metal | £12.99 | |
| Australia | Standard | $0 |
| Premium | $10.99 | |
| Metal | $24.99 |
Fees for ATM withdrawals
| Account type | Fees |
| Standard | No fee up to $300 per month, then a 2% fee applies. |
| Premium | No fee up to $600 per month, then a 2% fee applies. |
| Metal | No fee up to $1,200 per month, then a 2% fee applies. |
| Account type | Fees |
| Standard | No fee up to $6,500 per month, then a 0.5% exchange rate margin applies. |
| Premium | No fee up to $20,000 per month, then a 0.5% exchange rate margin applies. |
| Metal | Unlimited free transfers. |
For example, you have an Australian Revolut account but have a USD balance. You may have converted your AUD balance to USD and are holding it in your Revolut multi-currency account. Since early 2021, a new fee is applied. The fee for same currency international money transfers from your Revolut account to a non-Revolut bank account is 0.3% of the transfer amount. The minimum charge is $0.30 and the maximum charge is $8.
Same currency transfers between Revolut customers internationally still does not cost anything.
Revolut provides interbank exchange rates when processing international money transfers involving major currencies, provided they fall within a customer's monthly allowance limit. Transfers that involve THB (Thailand) and UAH Ukraine) come with markups, as do cryptocurrency exchanges. The markup depends on the type of account you hold.
Fees for foreign exchange outside market hours (weekends)
| High-frequency Standard customers | Premium customers | Metal customers | |
| Major currencies | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| THB and UAH | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| Cryptocurrencies | 3% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
Using Revolut on the weekend (GMT), incurs high exchange rate fees of 1%. This is not highlighted very well when signing up and can mean surprise costs for weekend international travellers or travellers on extended trips.
iCompareFX Top Tip: It pays to not use Revolut on the weekends!
You don't have to pay any fees to receive money into your Revolut multi-currency accounts. However, the sender might need to pay intermediary bank fees. For example, a sender transferring EUR from Ireland into your EUR-denominated account in the UK might still need to pay intermediary bank fees. This is because the multi-currency accounts offered by Revolut are physically located in the UK.
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| Account type | Monthly fee |
| Monzo current account | £0 |
| Monzo Plus account | £5 |
| Monzo Lite (for business) | £0 |
| Monzo Pro (for business) | £5 |
Fee-free ATM withdrawals and fees outside the EEA
When you use Monzo to send money overseas through Wise, existing Wise exchange rates apply. When you use your Monzo Mastercard outside of the UK, Monzo does not apply any markup. In this case, existing Mastercard exchange rates apply.
You pay no fees when receiving money into your Monzo account. However, in the case of international money transfers, the sender might need to pay a fee.
Monzo’s monthly account fees are less across their range of products. While Revolut offers 0% exchange rate margins (excluding weekends), their 0% rate comes with a low volume threshold. This means monthly or rate margin fees can increase for individuals and businesses quite a bit. If you need to transfer and transact larger sums of money internationally, Monzo’s partnership with Wise can result in far lower currency exchange costs and monthly account fees.
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Sign up process - Create a new account with ease by using the Revolut app.
Payment options - Bank account transfers, debit cards and credit cards..
Apple Pay and Google Pay - Link your Revolut account to Apple Pay or Google Pay to make fast and easy payments.
Mobile app - Available for iOS and Android.
Website access - Customers can not use the Revolut website to access their accounts or send money. They need to use the Revolut app.
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Sign up - Simple registration process. Use the Monzo app or website.
Payment options - Bank transfers, cash and cheques.
Apple Pay and Google Pay - Link your Monzo account to Apple Pay or Google Pay and make payments using your phone.
Mobile app - Available for iOS and Android.
Limits - There are limits surrounding daily card transactions, ATM withdrawals (domestic and international), daily bank transfers and cash deposits.
Phone transfers - You can not carry out transfers over the phone.
Both Monzo and Revolut built their digital banking product from the ground up. This allowed them to build in customer experience within the design and development of their product. This shows with both Revolut and Monzo scoring well within the Ease of Use category.
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Supported currencies for transfers - Use Revolut to send money in 28 currencies.
Customer support - Local phone support in different countries and 24/7 chat support.
Supported registration countries - Revolut can improve by increasing the number of registration countries outside of Europe.
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Supported destination countries for transfers - Monzo customers can transfer money to most countries in the world, owing to Wise's extensive list of supported countries.
Supported registration countries - As of now, Monzo provides services only for residents of the UK.
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Addressing customer complaints - Some Revolut reviews on Trustpilot mention customers' accounts being locked and their money going missing. Quick resolution of such complaints would work well in increasing trust levels.
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Regulated - Monzo is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Protection of funds - A sum of up to £85,000 in your Monzo accounts is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Trustpilot - Monzo gets a rating of Excellent on Trustpilot.
Addressing customer problems - Some Monzo reviews on Trustpilot suggest that the company rates poorly when it comes to addressing customer problems such as suspended accounts and fraudulent transactions. It also appears that Monzo takes a while to reply to negative reviews on this platform.
Losses - Monzo's reported annual post-tax loss of £113.8 million in 2020 has led to concerns surrounding the digital bank's ability to keep going, which makes it a high risk entity as of now.
WinnerRevolut has won overall when compared to Monzo. It is clear that Monzo has a lower monthly account fee structure. And for customers needing to transfer large sums of money regularly, Monzo would be a good choice. However, Revolut has slightly more features that individuals and businesses may find useful. Add this to a clear risk for Monzo’s future, Revolut scores higher overall.
Yes, Revout is better than Monzo by offering more services for individuals and businesses. Revolut is probably a better choice until Monzo can fix their financial problems. Monzo is a risky choice for the risk averse customer.
