Revolut Launch Free Freelance & Business Accounts

Revolut has had a good few years. The innovative fintech launched in 2015 and has continued to grow and expand the services they offer. At the start of July, Revolut was named as the number one start-up in the UK.

This was thanks to the challenger bank’s expanding customer base and innovative products, both for personal and business use. It’s in this latter sector that they announced details of a new service — free business and freelance accounts. We’ve got all the essential info.

Expanding appeal

The teams over at Revolut are looking to expand their global reach. This latest step of offering free business banking is a clear move to grow their appeal.

As it states on the Revolut business account (review) page, businesses can, ‘Start for free. Pay as you grow.‘ Cancel at any time. The company now offers four tiers of business accounts to cover a range of interests, as well as two tiers of freelance account.

This latest step of offering free business banking is a clear move to grow their appeal.

Those who are just starting out with their business or freelance venture will find many competitive features on the free account. However, eventually, a paid account or change in service will likely be necessary. The market for small and medium-sized business finance is getting competitive, particularly with brands like Monzo ready to join the fray.

Useful features

Given the features that are on offer, it’s clear to see the appeal and scope of the free Revolut business account. However, it’s also evident that restrictions compared to the paid accounts will eventually be frustrating.

Here are some of the major features that the free business account has:

• Unlimited free payments to other Revolut accounts
• Two free additional team members
• Five free local transfers per month
• Hold and exchange 28 different currencies
• Local accounts in GBP and EUR
• Prepaid debit cards
• Mobile app and virtual cards

You get the same features with Revolut’s free freelance account, with the exception of the additional team members. Adding additional team members costs £5 per go on the business account, and international transfers cost £3 each time for both the business and freelance account.

Limitations

Despite a healthy set of introductory features, there are a few notable ones missing, which some may find quite limiting. For example, transferring between currencies will come with a 0.4% charge per transaction. Paid accounts allowances depending on the tier you subscribe to.

Another somewhat puzzling omission is the lack of priority 24/7 priority support. All of the other tiers come with this as standard. Bulk payments are also excluded from the free tier.

The same applies to the upcoming features. There are some exciting things in the pipeline for the paid accounts — expense management, no fees for accepting payments and payroll, for example. However, none of these will apply to the free versions. However, loans and overdrafts are scheduled across all tiers.