Avoid Revolut at all costs!

It took me two weeks to get back into the app after switching phones. There's no way to contact support except by logging into the app or by Facebook. Then on Facebook they have an automated system that will close your ticket after 24 hours of you not replying.

I'm on a 12 hour time difference so that happened around four times before I got it solved. I ended up shouting in caps at that them, and I'm not a caps kinda guy. As soon as I got back in I withdrew all funds and closed the account.

Since I've been telling this story I've heard several more horror stories. The worst was a friend who gets paid through Revolut, so it triggered an automated finance checking system and instantly locked his account until he could prove he paid tax. Then the system wouldn't let him upload the docs for several days, support was just as helpful as they were with me. He had no money for five days.

Anyway, why would they do that? He wasn't doing anything illegal, they could have asked him to provide the docs with a week's grace and all would have been well.

I'd rather pay the higher fees than give any money to a company that treats it employees the way Revolut does. The CEO and his company culture is not sustainable and I would not be surprised in the future when some scandal comes out.

Revolut seems to act like a bank but is it regulated as a proper bank? I am suspicious of it because it was touted to me as "made by Russians" but since I'm one it had the opposite effect.

But anyway I don't think you can sign up for Revolut without a proper bank account and residence in one of eligible countries while Wise can charge even a debit card. Limits and slightly higher fees apply and they require ID verification but it works. I had to do it while unbanked.

Revolut has a EU banking license.