Fig. 3 · A banknote counter, part by part
Two providers are compared the way a counter counts: one note at a time.
Start from the money you will actually move, then read the plan, the conversion fee, the licence, the rails and the details you can be paid on. Scroll, and the counter comes apart in that order.
-
01 Notes in the hopper
Count your own volume first.
At 5,000 pounds converted a month Wise Business costs about 12 pounds against 34 on Revolut Basic. At 15,000 pounds a month the two come out level.
Wise Business against Revolut Business -
02 Hopper guides
The plan sets the allowance.
Revolut Business UK plans cost 10, 35 and 125 pounds a month, with conversion allowances of 1,000, 15,000 and 60,000 pounds. Past the allowance each conversion costs 0.6%.
Two legal entities and two price models -
03 Top cover and display
The display shows one number. The fee has several.
Wise Business costs 50 pounds once, then a conversion fee that starts at 0.24% and varies by currency. Revolut charges 1% on conversions outside market hours on every plan.
Wise Business against Revolut Business -
04 Sensor board
The detector checks the paper. We check the licence.
In the UK Revolut is a bank, so deposits carry FSCS cover. Wise is an e-money institution: it safeguards customer funds instead, which ring fences the money but pays no compensation.
Are neobank deposits protected? -
05 Feed rollers
Every rail adds a flat fee.
Flat fees can outweigh the conversion margin: 10 incoming Fedwire payments cost 80 pounds at Revolut, and 20 Swift payments cost 200 to 400 pounds at Airwallex.
Multi currency business accounts, compared -
06 Motor and belt
Local details decide what you can be paid in.
Wise receives money in 22 currencies and holds more than 40. Starling offers EUR, and its USD account is closed to new applicants. The count on a landing page is not the count you can bill in.
What the details and the rate really cost
Counted back together
Comparisons in the journal
- Multi currency business accounts, compared by what the details and the rate really costForty currencies on a landing page can mean twenty two you can actually be paid in. A comparison of four providers by local details, IBAN country, markup over the rate and the flat fees nobody puts in the headline.
- Wise Business against Revolut Business, read as two legal entities and two price modelsOne is a bank in the UK and charges by the month. The other is an e-money institution and charges by the conversion. The cheaper one depends on your monthly volume, and the numbers meet at about 15,000 pounds.
- The best business account for a startup in Europe depends on the stage the company is atA company in formation, a founder trading in their own name and an incorporated startup with a US shareholder are refused and accepted by different providers. Sort by eligibility first, then by price.