Who is Revolut really built for?

Revolut is a London-based fintech designed for teams that require structure as their spending increases. It brings multi-currency accounts, global transfers, cards, and spend controls into one platform, making it easier to manage who can spend, how much, and where. With tiered plans that unlock more features over time, Revolut suits businesses that want strong internal governance alongside international money movement.

What does Wise do better than almost anyone else?

Wise is a UK-based payments platform specializing in low-cost international money transfers. It’s built for teams that want predictable FX and simple cross-border transfers without extra tooling. You can hold and move multiple currencies from one account, get local bank details in key markets, and see fees upfront using the mid-market exchange rate. Wise is best suited for businesses that prioritize fast, low-friction global payments over internal spend controls..

Revolut vs Wise: an overview

When founders compare Wise vs Revolut, they’re usually reacting to a moment:

• A transfer got expensive
  
• A team member spent without visibility
  
• Finance ops started taking time away from growth
  

Wise and Revolut solve different pain points along that journey. The table below breaks this down so you can map each platform to how your business actually runs today.

[Table:1]

What you actually get with Revolut vs Wise

Revolut is designed for founders who need structure at scale. Revolut focuses less on transfer speed and more on internal spend structure, permissions, spend visibility, and centralized oversight across teams, cards, and workflows.

• Integrated Payment Processing: It functions as a merchant account for accepting card payments online or in-person via QR codes and the Revolut Reader.
  
• Multi-Currency Account Infrastructure: Businesses can hold and manage multiple currencies in one account, simplifying global operations and cross-border payments.
  
• HR and Workflow Automation: The platform features deep "Revolut People" integrations with tools like Slack and Personio to automate payroll and expense approvals.
  
• Granular Spend Oversight: It provides role-based permissions and real-time expense tracking, offering a level of administrative control that Wise currently doesn't match.
  

Wise prioritizes clarity over control. Its tools are optimized for predictable payouts, clean FX execution, and minimal administrative overhead, especially for teams managing contractors or cross-border vendors.

• Global Banking Infrastructure: It provides local account details for 9+ currencies (including USD, GBP, and EUR), allowing you to receive international payments like a local without high SWIFT fees.
  
• Developer-First Customization: While its feature set is more focused, Wise provides free, open API access for all business accounts to help teams automate custom financial workflows.
  
• High-Volume Payouts: It is a favorite for businesses managing global contractors, allowing for batch payments of up to 1,000 recipients via a single CSV upload.
  
• Transparent Exchange Economics: By sticking strictly to the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden markups, Wise remains the benchmark for predictable, large-scale international liquidity.
  

Revolut vs Wise: how each platform protects your money

Both Wise and Revolut Business operate in the US as regulated financial platforms rather than traditional banks. Each relies on different structural mechanisms to protect customer funds.

In the US, Revolut operates a Prepaid Cardholder Program through its partner bank, Lead Bank. Customer funds linked to cards are held with the partner bank rather than directly on Revolut’s balance sheet.

• Fraud Prevention and Spend Safeguards: Revolut emphasizes preventative controls and internal safeguards. This translates to configurable permissions, real-time visibility, and automated checks designed to reduce unauthorized or misclassified spend.
  
• In-App Analytics: You get a clear view of their financial health through integrated analytics tools that track every dollar spent by team, project, or currency, reducing the hidden cost of manual bookkeeping.
  
• Real-Time Notifications: Transparency is delivered instantly; every payment, card tap, or incoming transfer triggers an immediate alert, ensuring no transaction goes unnoticed by the finance lead.
  

Wise is known for its transparency. Every fee is shown upfront before you commit to a transfer.

• Fund Separation & Risk Management: Wise operates in the US as a regulated money services business. Customer funds are kept separate from Wise’s own operating capital and held with established US banking partners and in low-risk, highly liquid assets such as short-term government securities. Wise does not lend or use customer balances for its own operations.
  
• Two-Step Verification & Biometrics: Every transaction is protected by mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) and biometric logins (such as fingerprint or facial recognition), providing an extra layer of defense against unauthorized access.
  
• Transparent Payment Tracking: You can track the exact status of your international transfers at any point in the process through the app, removing the uncertainty often found in traditional SWIFT payments.
  

How much you’re actually paying with Revolut vs Wise

If you’re a founder spending a few international transfers a month, Wise keeps costs clean and visible. If you’re approving spend across teams, cards, and subscriptions, Revolut’s fees often show up indirectly through subscriptions, not transfers.

[Table:2]

Note: The information in the table above is sourced from the official websites of Revolut Business and Wise Business. Pricing, fees, and features may vary by region and are subject to change.

Revolut vs Wise: What you really pay for FX

FX doesn’t hurt once. It hurts repeatedly. A 1% markup on weekends doesn’t feel big until you’re moving payroll, vendor payments, and ad budgets across time zones.

• Wise stays true to the mid-market rate, the exact one you'll find on Google or Reuters. They don't add a markup to the rate, which means you're getting the "real" price of money every time you hit send.
  
• Revolut uses the interbank rate. It's highly competitive during market hours, but they add a 1% markup on weekends when the markets are closed. For teams operating across time zones, weekend markups introduce a structural cost that compounds as transaction volume grows.
  

Revolut vs Wise: who each platform is really for

Ultimately, the best tool depends on how your business actually operates on the ground.

If you’re a lean or early-stage founder Wise makes more sense when:

• You want total transparency: If you're tired of doing "fintech math" and just want to know the exact cost of a transfer upfront, Wise is built for you.
  
• You need local account details: If you need to get paid like a local in currencies like AUD, CAD, or TRY, Wise gives you the details to make that happen without the high SWIFT fees.
  

If you’re building a team-led company Revolut becomes relevant when:

• You're managing a distributed team: If you need to get 20+ cards into the hands of your team with custom spend limits and real-time tracking, Revolut’s infrastructure is much more robust.
  
• You want an all-in-one stack: If you’d prefer to have your payment gateway and your business account living under one roof, Revolut offers that integrated experience.
  
• You want US-specific local banking details: For founders incorporated in the USA, Revolut provides domestic US account details, allowing you to send and receive payments via ACH or US domestic wire like any local entity.

Revolut vs Wise: Cards

Card infrastructure becomes a control problem as teams scale. Both platforms issue physical and virtual cards, but they are built for very different operating models.

• Revolut is built for high-velocity teams. You can issue up to 200 virtual cards per team member instantly, allowing you to dedicate specific cards for specific goals/ teams. The real winner for operators is the automated receipt matching. Your team snaps a photo of the receipt in-app, and Revolut automatically pairs it with the transaction. It’s a massive time-saver that essentially eliminates the end-of-month "where's this invoice?" chase.
  
• Wise is your lean travel companion. It’s excellent for founders or small teams who need a card that just works without FX markups in 40+ currencies. You get up to three virtual cards per user to manage basic spending. It offers free ATM withdrawals up to $100/month (before a 2% fee kicks in), making it a solid choice for occasional travel or simple vendor payments.
  

Where founders start feeling the limits

Every finance tool works well at first. The cracks appear only when volume, velocity, or headcount increases.

Revolut limitations

• Subscription thresholds: Most of Revolut's best features, like bulk payments, higher FX limits, and advanced team roles, are locked behind a monthly subscription. If you're on the "Basic" plan, you'll find yourself hitting fee-free caps quickly.
  
• Weekend FX markups: While their rates are competitive during the week, Revolut adds a 1% markup on all currency exchanges during the weekend to protect itself from market volatility. This can be a hidden tax on global teams working across time zones.
  
• Support bottlenecks: Customer support is primarily chat-based, and unless you're on a top-tier paid plan, wait times can be significant when you're facing an urgent issue like a frozen account or a missing transfer.
  
• Automated compliance holds: In an effort to be compliant, Revolut's automated security systems are known for being sensitive, sometimes leading to sudden account freezes without immediate explanation.
  
• No US business credit: Unlike a traditional commercial bank, Revolut doesn't currently offer business loans, overdrafts, or credit lines for US-based entities, which can limit your ability to finance inventory or growth.
  

Wise limitations

• Missing Financial Infrastructure: Wise is a powerhouse for money movement, but it isn't a full-service business bank. You won't find traditional services like check deposits, cash handling, or business financing.
  
• Limited Approval Workflows: Wise lacks the granular "Maker-Checker" permissions that scaling companies need. You can't easily set up complex internal rules where one person initiates a payment and a founder gives the final sign-off.
  
• Transaction and Receiving Limits: Depending on the currency and your verification level, Wise has caps on how much you can receive or send in a single day or year. Large transfers can sometimes trigger additional reviews that slow things down.
  
• Basic Expense Management: While Wise offers cards, it doesn't have the deep expense tech of its competitors. You won't get automated receipt scanning or the ability to issue hundreds of dedicated cards for specific SaaS tools.
  
• No Phone Support for All: While they have a 24/7 help center, getting a live specialist on the phone can be difficult, especially for complex regulatory or account-blocking issues that require more than a chat response.

Revolut vs Wise: final verdict

When you’re weighing these two, the right move depends on what your roadmap looks like for the next six to twelve months.

• If your priority is pure money movement, go with Wise. Their commitment to the mid-market rate and "no-nonsense" fee structure makes them the most cost-effective tool for sending and receiving international payments without the math homework. It’s perfect for founders who want to keep things lean and transparent.
  
• If you’re focused on team operations, Revolut is the better fit. While the subscription fees can add up, it’s a trade-off for having superior spend control, detailed analytics, and a broader suite of financial services that help a scaling team stay organized.
  

When neither Wise nor Revolut feels quite right

For you, choosing between Revolut and Wise might feel like a trade-off between paying for a premium subscription or struggling with a lack of core business tools. The real challenge is striking a balance between cost transparency and operational control. Aspire is designed to sit at that intersection, combining predictable FX fees³ from 0.22%, local and real-time payouts via ACH, domestic wires, and real time transfers, and structured approvals across bills, claims, invoices, and budgets, all in a single operating layer that scales with team size and payment volume.

Payments are initiated within defined workflows, reviewed by the right people, and released with full visibility into cost, timing, and destination. As volume grows, automation takes over repetitive steps, so teams don’t need new tools or manual checks to stay in control.

Rather than layering tools on top of each other, Aspire acts as an operating layer for global finance. Payments, controls, and accounting touchpoints live in one place, which reduces manual work and makes it easier to scale without introducing friction or unexpected costs.

Disclosure: AFT US LLC, d/b/a Aspire, is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Deposit Account and banking services are provided by Column N.A., Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured depository institution. Deposits in the Deposit Account are FDIC-insured through Column N.A., Member FDIC and Column's Sweep Program Network Banks. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through FDIC insurance to apply

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