As the world begins to embrace globalisation at an exponential rate, it is a sad truth that many of our traditional systems are failing to adapt and move in pace with current trends. One of the most prominent industries that have fallen into massive disruption would be the banking industry. Banks have always been leveraging on the fact that travelling is not a regular occurrence for ordinary people like you and me. These financial institutions charge you when you spend or remit money abroad. Fortunately, the dawn of digital banking is here. Apps like Revolut are not about that greed, and that’s why more than eight million people have switched to the Revolut card worldwide.
Revolut Download 2024
An absolute must for the seasoned traveller. An absolute must for the people on budget. And an absolute must to prepare you for the cashless society.
We have talked about YouTrip for spending money abroad and TransferWise for remitting money across borders. Revolut, in short, combines what both apps have to offer. But keep in mind, all 3 apps do have their strengths and weaknesses. Here’s why Revolut is a must when travelling abroad.
A Radically Improved Bank Account
Everything that is done wrong with traditional banks is done right at Revolut with the Revolut Card.
Although advertised as a travel card in this article, you will find that this card may very well replace any credit card that you’re paying membership fees for.
You can choose the colour and material of your choice!
The Revolut Standard Card – Do note that you would have to make a deposit of $20 to get the free standard card.
Premium Membership Perks
Metal Membership PerksHere’s why this app is the future.
Fun Fact: You can even exchange 30 supported currencies into cryptocurrencies but we will not be covering that as this is not our main focus for Revolut.
Manage Your Money With Tons of Budgeting Features
Budgeting is made easy with the Revolut app.
Simply set a budget for any type of spending in seconds and the app will track your progress realtime to make sure the targets can be achieved.
There are so many budgeting apps, why would this one work?
Well, for starters, since all your spending will be on the same app that does your budgeting, you no longer have to key in any transactions manually onto Revolut.
Revolut automatically sets a daily spending limit that you are recommended to stick to and notifies your remaining spending budgets realtime.
An analytics tool is also available for you to stay on top of your game and pinpoint which areas are burning the most out of your cash.
Last, the Vault function allows you to set multiple financial goals at once. You can choose to deposit a regular amount to each of these goals or select their round up function.
The roundup function, in essence, works in a self-explanatory way where each transaction is rounded up to the nearest dollar. The rounded-up value is deposited into the Vault.
This makes saving especially easy for users who tend to spend most of their disposable income and struggle with cultivating good goods habits.
The more you spend, the more you automatically save.
How awesome is that?
Travelling With Ease – With Free ATM Withdrawals*
While Revolut supports over 150 currencies, it allows users to exchange and hold and ever-growing list of fiat currencies.
To date, these are the fiat currencies currently supported: AED, AUD, BGN, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HRK, HUF, ILS, ISK, JPY, MAD, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, QAR, RON, RSD, RUB, SAR, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, ZAR
More currencies are coming according to the official website.
Just like any other multi-currency travel wallet, this card not only saves you a trip to the money changer but may also offer you better than average rates. This is done with the interbank exchange rate, which is a real-time rate that is constantly changing and fluctuating on the app and website.
To further simplify what this means, users get the same foreign exchange rate as what they see on Google.
Some of you may be wondering now: How can it save me a trip to the money changer if the country is still not fully cashless yet?
Easy!
Revolut offers free overseas ATM withdrawals for up to 350 SGD per month for standard users. We would recommend YouTrip instead for any withdrawals above this amount.
Don’t forget that while the app doesn’t charge any fees for withdrawals, most ATMs themselves may charge you a small administrative fee.
Remitting Money To Anyone – Better Than Western Union
If you are still remitting money with Western Union, this article is here to change that right now!
Newsflash.
There are heaps of cheaper online alternatives to making a remittance abroad. Revolut isn’t the only one.
On top of being a travel card that incorporates so many finance features into one, there is one real reason why you should remit money using Revolut!
It saves you more money! Which is extremely useful if you are a student on exchange/studying abroad or a working adult trying to send back money to his or her loved ones.
Revolut international money transfers are convenient and also gives you the best rates (interbank exchange rates) when transferring SGD to foreign currencies and vice versa.
Not only that, Revolut takes the stage and charges no extra fees for this international transfer. As long as you transfer less than $5,000 a month and do it on a weekday.
This is not seen in other reputable online remittance apps such as Transferwise and the less desirable World Remit. Do note, however, even though TransferWise has a small fee for transfers, it is still necessary to compare between the two platforms as the currency rates that they offer differ slightly.
Free Transfer Up to 900 SGD.
Known for cheap remittance services. And so much more now. Transferwise is the new Western Union.
For transfers above $5,000, made during the weekends, or for selected currencies, a small 0.5% fee is added as a risk management strategy for Revolut.
Still pretty darn attractive as compared to SWIFT transfers and Money Gram/Western Union if you ask us.
The $5,000 free limit is raised for Revolut Premium and Metal users with no rubbish exchange rates and hidden fees.
Is Revolut Safe? Is Revolut Secure? Set Security The Way You Want It
As long your money is entrusted with someone else, your finances are always at risk. And this risk is beyond your control.
Same goes for traditional banks. No security system is 100% foolproof.
It is common to see cases of fraud whenever someone discover a new loophole to be exploited.
That being said, Revolut is comparatively safe, if not, safer than most financial institutions.
Other than attaining the good old status of being FCA recognised, funds are stored in a segregated account held with tier-1 partner banks only (Barclays/Lloyds). Card transactions are processed and protected by Visa for Singaporean Revolut users (Mastercard or Maestro in other regions)
There are also tons of security features that users can meddle with. This includes:
What We Like & Don’t Like About Revolut – Review
Revolut has tons of finance features packed into one app. It has a smooth signup experience and we love the flexibility of its custom security settings.
And we definitely LOVE the massive money savings in all their available features!
That being said, although Revolut strives to centralise all your finances, which could be very useful while you are abroad, we find the user interface to be slightly cluttered by today’s standards.
With so many apps jumping on the bandwagon of charging users monthly recurring fees, the subscription-based model that Revolut is currently running on is also something that we wouldn’t speak highly of.
It can get real messy.
YouTrip User? Why Bother Signing Up For Revolut?
YouTrip may already be your frequently used travel card, but there are perks to dual wield both apps while abroad.
YouTrip Promo Code 2024
Starting today, you can travel like a boss with free travel credits on YouTrip! Use promo code GSF5 during the signup process and receive 5 SGD for free!
Here’s why you might need both in a few situations.
YouTrip has a flat charge of 5 SGD when you do a withdrawal of any amount at an ATM machine. This may not be a favourable option if you’re drawing only a low amount of cash.
On the other hand, Revolut offers standard users free withdrawals for up to 350 SGD per month.
A perfect complementary card for YouTrip travel wallet.
You cannot make a remittance via the YouTrip app too. Or withdraw your balance when you’re back in Singapore (although you can use it as a regular cash card with ezlink functions).
The Revolut card and app make up for that with its ability to remit money across borders… or back to your own bank account.
Sign up for the Revolut Card here!
Related to Revolut Card:
