Revolut Bank Sweden Review: All You Need To Know (2023)
I’ve been a Revolut customer since the first month they launched back in 2015. Revolut is a new digital fintech company with over 15 million customers today, with over half a million in Nordic countries (Revolut Bank Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland).
The company currently offers no credit cards, but three different types of premium debit cards. What makes Revolut different is that they are at the forefront of digitization. Their products offer low costs for currency trading, currency exchange rates, and bank transfers.
Revolut Bank Quick Review (TL;DR summary)
What I love about Revolut
- Try for FREE and get €10
- GET 600kr (€60) for referring friends and family members!
- Extremely cheap currency exchange (check this example)
- One of the cheapest and fastest ways to send money to other countries
- Cashback on trending stores: JD Sports, Adidas, Flixbus, ASOS, Vueling, Mediamarkt, Wish, and many others.
- Super easy way to buy stocks (from 10kr). Open a trading account in 2 clicks.
- The app has awesome features: schedule payments, split group bills, open pockets, create disposable cards to buy online, and more.
- Vaults to save money.
- Buy and manage cryptocurrencies.
- Revolut Learn: get free money for learning about crypto.
- Junior cards are great (EASIEST family bank).
- It’s an official bank in Sweden (and 20+ countries), so deposits are insured up to €100,000.
- Apple Pay
What I don’t like about Revolut
- No BankID support in Sweden
- No integration with Swish (in Sweden)
- No payment via OCR
- Some of the plans are expensive compared to regular banks in Sweden such as Nordea, Swedbank, Handelsbanken, and SEB.
Is Revolut a bank?
Since 2021, Revolut has obtained an official banking license in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and 20 more European countries, which means that your deposits are insured for up to €100.000.
How does Revolut work?
Revolut is a completely digital bank. You manage all the services and functions you want to use through your smartphone, via the Revolut App. There are also desktop apps such as the Revolut app for macOS. However, you cannot manage it through their website (yet).
When you download Revolut, you can open an account where you can deposit money. The account works like a digital wallet, where you can transfer money free of charge to other users within Revolut, but also to external bank accounts (in other countries too!)
At Revolut there are four different membership levels: Standard, Plus, Premium and Metal. When you join a certain membership level, you get access to the benefits included in that tier, and also the opportunity to order home the bank card that belongs to the membership level.
In Sweden, all Revolut cards are currently available: Standard, Premium, and Metal. All cards are debit cards and are linked to a bank account to which you transfer money.
Since Revolut does not offer any credit cards, it is not possible to partially pay for your purchases with the cards. However, several benefits are included, similar to the benefits you get with credit cards. For example, there is the possibility of cashback on your card purchases, free travel insurance, and low fees for transactions. Which benefits are included depends on which card you use, which you can read about below.
Once you’re up and running, it’s through the app that you manage your account. In the application, you can
- Order your physical card
- Create disposable cards (great for buying online in a more secure way)
- Choose and upgrade your account plan
- Open and close your card
- Check your transaction history
- Exchange and transfer money
- Trade and exchange currencies, precious metals, cryptocurrencies
- Buy shares without brokerage fees
- Chat with customer service around the clock
How To Open An Account In Revolut Bank (2 Minutes)
- Download the Revolut app (get €10 using my link)
- Register & Verify yourself. Once you’ve downloaded the application, you first need to enter your mobile phone number and connect it to the app by entering a one-time code. You can then fill in personal and contact details. Once you’ve registered, you’ll need to verify yourself to get started. You do this by taking a picture of your driver’s license, national ID, or passport and sending it to them.
- Choose the card that suits you. Once your account is verified, the only thing left to do is select an account. Upon registration, you automatically receive a free Standard account, but you have the option to upgrade to either Premium or Metal.
Revolut Standard
Revolut Standard is the free basic membership available at Revolut. With the Standard card, you get some of the benefits included with the other cards, without having to pay any annual fee.
The standard card is great for those who intend to use it to a limited extent for free payments and cash withdrawals in foreign currencies. For example, if you transfer money abroad from time to time, and you travel once or twice a year. International students are also great candidates for getting this card.
Advantages:
- FREE (no fees)
- No fees for currency exchange
- No credit check required (no UC check)
- Easy to open saving vaults
- Trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals
- Discount on online stores (2% – 25%)
Cons:
- ATM withdrawal fees if you withdraw more than 2.000 kr/month.
- No cashback
Revolut Plus
With Revolut Plus you get the same card as in the Standard (free) version, but with a few extra benefits such as improved purchase protection and a 90-day return window. You also get ticket cancellation for events that get canceled (a benefit found most often on credit cards)
Advantages:
- Insurance up to €1000
- Get interest on your savings
- Ticket cancellation insurance
- 90-day purchase return window
- No credit check required (no UC check)
Cons:
- ATM withdrawal fees if you withdraw more than 4.000 kr/month.
- No cashback
Revolut Premium
Revolut Premium is packing up some great benefits. Just like a traditional debit card, this card is also issued in plastic, but it has many benefits similar to their Metal card, especially for travelers.
There is no cashback on this card, but it provides travel insurance and access to airport lounges. Another interesting feature is that you can design your card. Plus, you can get a free premium month on your birthday!
Advantages:
- No currency exchange fee for foreign purchases
- Supplementary travel insurance
- Lounge access on the trip
- No credit check required
- Exchange currencies free of charge
Cons:
- No cashback
- 924 SEK annual fee, which is a bit expensive if you don’t use the airport lounges or send money abroad often.
Revolut Metal
Revolut Metal is the most exclusive card offered by Revolut. My favorite feature is that you can get 1% cashback, and if you combine it with Curve you get 2% cashback in total. The card is made out of metal, it has a stylish design, and its metal finish gives a feeling of exclusivity. It’s really one of the best metal debit cards out there.
Revolut Metal offers, among other things, travel benefits such as travel insurance and access to airport lounges. The best feature lies in its low transaction fees. With the metal card, you get all the benefits that the other cards offer (such as no currency surcharge).
Advantages:
- Cashback: 0.1% within Europe, and 1% on purchases outside Europe.
- No currency surcharge for purchases in foreign currency
- Travel insurance included
- Access to lounge
- No UC credit check
Cons:
- No credit line
- 1300kr annual fee is quite expensive. To make it worth it, you need to take advantage of all the travel benefits, such as the airport lounges, and insurances.
More facts on Revolut
Can Skatteverket see Revolut accounts?
Since 2021, Revolut has obtained an official banking license in Sweden (Revolut Bank Sweden). To comply with Swedish bank authorities and regulations, Revolut needs to inform about large bank transactions to Skatteverket, like any other bank in Sweden. Typically, transactions to Revolut accounts over 200.000kr are automatically reported to Skatteverket.
Revolut also needs to check transactions against money laundering according to the EU money laundering act. They might ask for the submission of additional documents via the Revolut App
Who owns Revolut Bank?
Revolut is a British financial technology company that offers banking services. Headquartered in London, it was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko.
Revolut Bank Sweden: which card to pick?
Is Revolut worth it?
My experience with Revolut has been great so far, but I also feel that their product structure and pricing tier can be confusing for most people. Their benefits are a bit overlooked and it is hard to motivate why to upgrade to their most premium tiers.
In Sweden, even though it has an official banking license, I still lack the integration with Swedish-specific services that are top-notch, such as BankID for logging in, Swish, and paying invoices via OCR.
To keep it simple, here’s my summary:
1. Revolut Standard
- EVERYONE should get it.
- It’s a no-brainer. The card is free, you get an extra bank account with many benefits, and can get 600kr for referring friends. It’s great to send money to friends and split bills. You can also get discounts on online stores, and use disposable cards for more secure transactions.
2. Revolut Plus
- Freelancers and other people running online businesses can benefit from getting a Revolut Plus account.
3. Revolut Premium
- Travelers who want good insurance and access to lounges, but also people who send large amounts of money abroad. People who are buying premium items might enjoy their longer return policy.
- You can try Revolut Premium for 30 days in your birthday month.
4. Revolut Metal
- Someone who often travels outside Europe, taking advantage of their access to lounges, but also get 1% cash back on purchases.
