Revolut is where WeWork was a few years ago. Eventually a few guys will make some nice money and the whole thing will go down the drain. VC money is nice, however at some point you need to start making your own money and how they are planning to do so is a question nobody has an answer to.
Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
101–110 of 177 posts
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
I actually moved from TransferWise to Revolut, because Revolut has somewhat better FX rates (TransferWise rates are also good).
I've been using Revolut to transfer money between countries because of its near-perfect exchange rate on weekdays, but I fear the day my account would suddenly be locked for weeks because I hit some secret anti-money laundering limit, or because I'm suddenly seen as a customer who is just making them lose money.
I had that happen recently. Fortunately I was not in a rush. I had to complain on social media after the situation hadn't been resolved in a couple of weeks, then magically I got some proper support.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
> On the website it just says things like "No fee ATM withdrawals up to €200 per month", but what about after 200€?? TransferWise debit card's landing page [1] doesn't have the ATM fee either. Their pricing page [2] does. I was able to find Revolut's pricing page [3], which includes the ATM fee, with a simple search. [1] https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/card [2] https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/pricing [3…
2% of all withdrawals?! WTF is this insanity. I thought it might be interesting for a bit, but never mind. Are they preying on people that live in countries without a working banking system?
I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but here in the US almost ever ATM that isn't at YOUR bank will charge a $2-$5 fee for withdrawal and then the bank will hit you with another $2-$5 fee. So depending on your bank, if you want $20, it could cost you $10.
OR (story time) if you are like me, and you end up needing cash in rural Oklahoma to pay an upcoming cash-only toll, and you pull off at the ONLY gas station between you and the toll, you could get hit with a $20 fee to pull out $20 (because its a freaking casino).
That said, there are many online-only banks that are part of ATM groups that have 100k free atms at various places all over. I use them.
And when traveling abroad, oddly enough the best cash card I've ever had is a CapitalOne debit card. I only use it when traveling, but no FX fees, and no ATM fees. So in the UK, most of the major banks and grocery chains have free ATMs, so I get free access to my money even abroad.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#104Revolut is predatory and walking on the line of legality. I would stay as far away as I can from them. - Unfair/illegal employment practices. [1] - Dubios crypto service (you can buy and sell but there is no way to transfer in or out) [2] - Keeping a firewall between customers and company by only allowing communication via app chatbot [3] - Accusations of money laundry. [4] - Many people have had their accounts froze…
- there is no way to transfer in or out Why you say so? I had some eth and converted it back to eur to take it out. If you are referring to having an eth/btc wallet, yeah, it is not that. So far my experience with the Metal Plan is really pleasant and I recommend it to anyone.
Parent comment meant transfer crypto in or out.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#105Revolut is where WeWork was a few years ago. Eventually a few guys will make some nice money and the whole thing will go down the drain. VC money is nice, however at some point you need to start making your own money and how they are planning to do so is a question nobody has an answer to.
You could say the same about Transferwise. Revolut is setting themselves up as a bank for millenials/gen Z. It is light years ahead of traditional banks in terms of user experience. Banks are a proven way of making money.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
2% of all withdrawals?! WTF is this insanity. I thought it might be interesting for a bit, but never mind. Are they preying on people that live in countries without a working banking system?
I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but here in the US almost ever ATM that isn't at YOUR bank will charge a $2-$5 fee for withdrawal and then the bank will hit you with another $2-$5 fee. So depending on your bank, if you want $20, it could cost you $10. OR (story time) if you are like me, and you end up needing cash in rural Oklahoma to pay an upcoming cash-only toll, and you pull off at the ONLY gas s…
> I only use it when traveling, but no FX fees, and no ATM fees.
Do they reimburse your ATM fees if you were to use a third-party ATM in the US, or just not charge you an additional fee to withdraw at third-party ATMs?
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#107Revolut is where WeWork was a few years ago. Eventually a few guys will make some nice money and the whole thing will go down the drain. VC money is nice, however at some point you need to start making your own money and how they are planning to do so is a question nobody has an answer to.
You could say the same about Transferwise. Revolut is setting themselves up as a bank for millenials/gen Z. It is light years ahead of traditional banks in terms of user experience. Banks are a proven way of making money.
> It is light years ahead of traditional banks in terms of user experience.
Their app experience is mostly stellar, but I wouldn't say the same of their support, and the fear that one's account would be locked because they hit some undisclosed limit.
I haven't had to deal with TransferWise's support yet, but I've heard that it's one of the "better" ones.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not, but here in the US almost ever ATM that isn't at YOUR bank will charge a $2-$5 fee for withdrawal and then the bank will hit you with another $2-$5 fee. So depending on your bank, if you want $20, it could cost you $10. OR (story time) if you are like me, and you end up needing cash in rural Oklahoma to pay an upcoming cash-only toll, and you pull off at the ONLY gas s…
> I only use it when traveling, but no FX fees, and no ATM fees. Do they reimburse your ATM fees if you were to use a third-party ATM in the US, or just not charge you an additional fee to withdraw at third-party ATMs?
I actually have never tested that theory out. I probably have $30 on it currently (haven't gone out of country in a few months, so haven't needed to fill it), I'll try to pull money out at the next ATM I come across and reply here.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
That you're not actually buying cryptocurrencies with it. It's just an IOU from Revolut, with very dubious protection. With the unregulated part of crypto I would bet you'd have absolutely zero protection if Revolut went out of business or just closed your account for some unknown reason.
That’s true of any deposit with Revolut as they’re not a bank — as I understand it anyway. It’s as true of Euros or USD as it is for Bitcoin. They’re done as a business the first time they lose customer money though, and that feels like a reasonable hedge.
> They’re done as a business the first time they lose customer money though, and that feels like a reasonable hedge.
I don't know if they're required to undergo any financial audits, but I hope they don't grow "too big to fail" when they inevitably get compromised in some way.
Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
> On the website it just says things like "No fee ATM withdrawals up to €200 per month", but what about after 200€?? TransferWise debit card's landing page [1] doesn't have the ATM fee either. Their pricing page [2] does. I was able to find Revolut's pricing page [3], which includes the ATM fee, with a simple search. [1] https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/card [2] https://transferwise.com/gb/borderless/pricing [3…
2% of all withdrawals?! WTF is this insanity. I thought it might be interesting for a bit, but never mind. Are they preying on people that live in countries without a working banking system?
At least in the UK most people use contactless. I only use revolut with ATMs when I am travelling. And in this case 2% after 200 euros seems a normal cost of travelling, certainly less than my bank card.