Finance
TransferWise – Money without Border
Money without Border – get thousands of USD, GBP and Euros back with this British FinTech company that Sir Richard Branson joined as an early investor.
TransferWise: where the money is said to be without borders – Save Thousands of USD, GBP and Euros back
TransferWise – Money without Border – A business with 9 years of functioning experience, 7 million satisfied customers, and 4 billion dollars of monthly turnover started with the story about two friends. After that, Borderless Money Transfer has never been so easy, cheap, and fast. You can save hundreds or even thousands of Dollars with low transaction fees, and best exchange rates.
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How I met TransferWise – Money without Border?
I have heard about TransferWise, Money without Border when I had to urgently send out a big amount of money within 24 hours from one country into another with currency exchange and minimal loss.
After researching the options, I was extremely surprised to find out that at the age of video conferences, emails, and instant messages, it is still an issue to send the money in their hand to someone else.
After a few long, complicated, and unsuccessful attempts, I have come across TransferWise, and its simplicity, as well as the human language they use in their interface, amazed me.
However, it still took some time for the amount to get through, but that was mostly a procedure on my bank’s side. It was kindly and clearly explained to me by the friendliest customer support I have ever met. I realized that even this waiting period could be avoided by topping up the account in advance for future potential transfers.
Two friends, a problem and multi-billion-dollar idea
Now they have 14 offices and more than 2000 employees, but 9 years ago there were just two friends who found mutual benefit in each other’s lifestyle. One of the two Estonian friends lived in London but worked for Estonia. The other one lived and worked in London, but had a mortgage to pay back in Estonia.
Both of them needed a certain amount per month converted into a different currency and in addition, transferred internationally. They kept using traditional ways for months, but it felt complicated and mostly overpriced. For that reason, the duo came up with an idea that turned out to be efficient and convenient.
The two startup entrepreneurs made a deal that one of them would place the equivalent of his mortgage payment in pounds at the actual exchange rate to the other one’s bank account. The other one, in his turn, would pay for his friend’s mortgage with his euros.
It was a win-win situation where each of them got what they wanted and didn’t have to pay any fee for it. Thus, they thought of turning it into a business idea, and above all, that would come handy for many others in the same situation.
Sir Richard Branson – Early-Stage Investor
British billionaire, Sir Richard Branson from the Virgin Group, has been one of the early-stage investors who saw the potential of TransferWise, Money without Border.
Transfers made easy
TransferWise is built on the principles that money should be easily sendable and easily convertible.
It has not only become a popular choice for regular travelers, freelancers, but also for ex-pats due to a convenient multi-currency account option. Therefore, one can easily convert and top up their accounts in any of the 50 available currencies.
Plus, it is cheaper and faster than regular bank transfers. Is it too good to be believable? I thought so, too, at first.
See why joining TransferWise is wise
- To join TransferWise, you should undergo a simple sign-up procedure either on the web or in a mobile app. To verify your account, you need to upload your ID. It is a very reasonable and safety-promoting measure.
- Once signed up, you can get your own bank account details for each selected currency and receive your payments via TransferWise at the rules of a local payment avoiding high extra fees. In other words, once you have the money in your account, you can convert them into any of 50+ currencies in no time and at almost no extra cost – Money without Border.
- You can receive your own debit card with TransferWise and use it internationally with zero fees for foreign transactions. Moreover, you can also spend your money in any currency at the lowest rates possible.
- With all your banking fitting in a very user-friendly mobile app, you can receive instant notifications and freeze your card any time if you saw anything suspicious.
- TransferWise is now compatible with Apple Pay’s contactless payments.
- You can use this app to send money to any of the 50+ partner countries or you can top up your account to be prepared for the next transfer.
Three principles of TransferWise
The founders definitely placed focus on making it attractive to customers.
Principle 1. Firstly, they believe there is nothing to hide, so all the fees, commissions, as well as company expenses – everything is 100% transparent.
Principle 2. Secondly, the founders don’t pursue a goal of getting as much as possible by maximizing commission amounts. They want to make the business attractive by keeping the commission at the lowest.
Principle 3. Thirdly, the founders don’t like the concept of dividing services into regular and premium, making access to premium services chargeable. They are eager to change the perception of premium into normal. They believe good quality is something that should be accessible to anyone.
Credibility and Financial Conduct Regulation
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is regulating TransferWise, like any other company dealing with electronic money.
MasterCard is issuing the Debit Cards for TransferWise Debit.
In addition, the following equivalent authorities are regulating TranserWise in these countries as well:
- Australia
- Belgium and with pass-porting rights to the European Economic Area (EEA)
- Canada
- Hong Kong
- India
- Japan
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- United States
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
What you need to know about TransferWise
- Creating a TransferWise account is free as well as creating a multi-currency account is also free. In addition, getting bank details for transfers. Furthermore, receiving money is free as well.
- For conversions between currencies, there is a commission, which is considerably lower in comparison with alternative money transfer/exchange services. Plus, you can always see the calculated commission in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises and questions.
- There is a small fee for transfers from TransferWise account to an external account in the same currency. The charged fee is the lowest possible to keep it working, and the founders claim their commitment to keeping the fees at the minimal level.
- If you decide to store your money with TransferWise, you might want to know which banks we have as our reliable partners. In Europe – it is Barclays, in the US – it is Wells Fargo. The customers’ money is stored in these segregated accounts. There are separate accounts for the money used for running the business.
- TransferWise is trying to be extremely transparent. They even show their customers what their fees are spent for: 2% – offices and running costs; 14% – operations and customer support teams; 18% – margin and growing TransferWise; 20% – building our products; 36% – banking partners and money-moving costs.
A final word about Money without Border
In the world where you have to pay a high price for every single thing, it is pleasant to just know that there is a service with a human face. The service that cares enough to charge the lowest fees and find more convenient and less costly ways for its customers to handle their transfers is born to win.
Despite the internet era penetrating every single area of our lives, however, our financial affairs have still not been flexible and fast enough to keep up the pace, for instance.
However, while Internet banking is becoming more and more accessible, TransferWise has been one of the first in their niche, and their well-thought customer care policy should guarantee them good and steady business.
Please support us and click the Affiliate link for TransferWise. Thank you.
Finance
Revolut – Best Free Banking App now available in the US
Revolut – Best Free Banking App in USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, and European Economic Area (EEA)
One of the fastest-growing Banking App Revolut has launched in the US today
Innovative British mobile banking app Revolut is one of the fastest-growing mobile banks in Europe with already over 15 million customers across 36 countries. After a successful pilot with over 60,000 beta testers since June 2019, Revolut has launched the US daily-banking-life-changing app today.
What is Revolut?
Revolut is a free Mobile Banking App with headquarters in London, UK, and licenses to operate currently in 36 countries including the US. Revolut is revolutionary for its user-friendly features such as one-use virtual debit cards for online shopping and low costs for international money transfers and exchange rates.
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Available to Everyone – No Matter of the Credit Score
The account by Revolut is available to everyone. Even people who have a bad credit score will receive the free Debit Mastercard since it is not a traditional credit card but a prepaid card. Nobody can spend money that is not on their account.
Banking with Revolut with no physical branches
The Fintech company started initially in the UK and expanded fast to its neighboring European countries. In the meantime, they are operating as far as Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada and have started their business in the US as well. The business strategy is to offer only app-based banking services and therefore, cost savings are enormous.
Revolut Mastercards
They offer free bank accounts including free physical prepaid debit cards that allow to use them in any shops that accept credit cards. In the US they will send out to their customers Mastercards and in Europe mainly Visa debit cards.
One of the best features is the virtual and disposable cards. With virtual cards, customers can pay online and only use them e.g. for paying Netflix and name the card accordingly. The virtual disposable card will be instantly destroyed after it is used, and a new one issued automatically. This reduces fraud and risk of stolen card details dramatically.
All cards can be managed, freezed and unblocked within the Revolut App.
Transfers to Friends and Family or other Revolut Account Holders
Requesting and paying money has never been so easy. You can switch (temporarily) on that, someone close can find you Revolut ID to send or request money. Uncomplicated and fast payments within seconds. It happened that I went to an Eastern European country to a hairdresser and I haven’t had time and the chance to exchange money. The hairdresser did not accept credit cards but one of the staff had a Revolut account and I could pay literally within seconds.
ATM Cash withdrawal
Should you need to have cash, there are over 55,000 ATMs where you can withdraw cash up to $300 without any charges. There will be standard fees charged for higher cash withdrawals. However, you can go for the premium accounts to avoid extra charges of 2% ATM fees above $ 300 per month.
Premium Revolut Account
The premium accounts cost $9.99 per month and offer up to $600 per month from an ATM without fees, as well as a disposable virtual card, global travel insurance, access to airport lounges via a LoungeKey Pass, among other benefits.
Premium Accounts with Metal Debit Card
The “Metal” account is the top-tier account and comes with a real physical metal debit card. It gives prestige to the cardholders similar to the metallic American Express Centurion Card. At least before Covid-19 as recently payments are in most shops and other outlets contactless.
The subscription fee is $ 16.99 and the monthly free cash withdrawal is $900. Above this amount, the ATM charges will be 1%. In addition, you will get cashback rewards on all purchases made on your Revolut cards.
Free Multi-Currency Accounts with best Exchange Rates
Another amazing feature is the multi-currency accounts that each customer can open free with one click. A client can have various currency accounts in all the major currencies. One currency can instantly be exchanged for another one and with the most competitive exchange rates without any exchange fees.
Therefore, Revolut is the perfect banking solution for travelers, business people, entrepreneurs, and clients who are transferring money abroad or in different currencies. However, since the accounts and debit cards are free, it is perfect for anyone, including students on a budget.
You will get with each free currency account local bank details from that country. That means debitors can pay you directly in their countries. E.g. a friend in Switzerland can pay into a Swiss bank account and it will get credited into your Swiss Franc currency accont.
Licensed US Bank is handling the Accounts and External Bank Transfers
Revolut is using partner banks for the necessary traditional bank services and in the US Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), New York is maintaining the external cash flow if necessary. International money transfers to 3rd parties are done much faster and at a fraction of the costs. How long it takes depends on their partner banks. In the UK, transfers from Revolut to 3rd party banks and vice versa hit the customers’ accounts within seconds.
Best User Experience
The app itself has an excellent UX (User Experience) and works without any glitch and has high security as you expect from a banking service.
Revolut Availablity
Revolut is currently available in following countries:
- USA
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Canada
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- Japan
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Republic of Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
Accounts are insured
The whole application is done in the app and takes only a few minutes. The accounts are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000.
Security and AI Fraud Detection
The security is very high and payments done are displayed on the mobile phone with a notification instantly. Furthermore, their fraud detection algorithm is blocking suspicious payments straight away.
Reports
The app keeps track of all currency accounts inward payments, spending, and all the physical and virtual debit cards. All the statistics are displayed in nice reports with graphics.
In addition, you will get notifications of upcoming payments. This might be useful to students or people living on a budget.
Support
Unlike most traditional banks, if there should be a case you need the support, it is within the App and live support agents are solving the issue fast. No long calls waiting in a queue.
Revolut Banking App Rating:
Conclusion and Recommendation
As a traveler and self-employed person, the Revolut is just perfect and makes my traveling and business life so much easier and convenient. There is nothing that I could negatively criticize so far. I haven’t tried their business solution yet but it is on my to-do list.
Since there are free accounts, I recommend everyone to open an account here:
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Revolut – Best Free Banking App now available in the US
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