Revolut tries to woo paying customers with new offers

IF SOMEONE asked me which Irish finance firm paid the highest interest rates, Revolut would probably be the last one I would think of.

The fintech, however, has just come up with some interesting new deals, if you don’t mind its lack of branches.

These include the highest interest rate on demand, plus money-back on groceries, tasty rewards, a host of insurance deals and its usual nofee currency exchange and speedy money transfer app.

As a caveat, I would add that many – though not all – of these deals are available only on its feecharging accounts so you’ll have to decide whether they are worth paying for.

Revolut has 1.2 million customers in Ireland. There are now also 15million customers worldwide.

However, it has yet to make a profit. It needs more customers paying for premium accounts and other services and it is desperately trying to woo them with some new deals.

The ones that stand out are:

It might not sound like much but 0.65% interest – available on Revolut’s top two accounts – is the highest rate on demand in Ireland.

In fact, you’d have to lock your money away for ten years to beat it, even with An Post.

However, savers should note Revolut’s big weakness – it is not an Irish bank whose savings are protected through the Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DGS) to the tune of €100k.

Revolut will also give you back up to 5%-20% of your shopping bills – up to a maximum saving of €48 for two months, depending on which premium account you sign up for. The biggest potential savings are with Revolut’s priciest account called Metal (which costs €14 a month).

If you subtract the subscription fees that would leave €20 in net savings over two months – although you wold also get a lot of benefits with those fee-paying accounts for nothing.

I had a quick gander in my account and saw some tasty offers such from the likes of Dominos (25% off), Apple (3%), Living Social (10%), Currys (1%), DJI (3%), Energia (€450) and many more. However, the offer is closing soon – to avail of Revolut’s grocery offer you need to sign up by midnight tomorrow.

Revolut’s fee-charging accounts provide free purchase protection for theft and accidental damage on things like TVs, phones, washing machine, bicycle, or any large purchase. There is also extended returns protection, travel insurance, missed event and ticket insurance and cover for those annoying excesses on car hire. If you add all that together, it’s a reasonably good saving. The car hire cover alone would be worth €3.30 a day – or €46 for a two-week holiday.

There’s other stuff that’s less appealing. Enabling your customers to buy a volatile controversial asset like bitcoin – for a fat fee – is a bit bonkers. No mainstream bank would do it, let alone advertise it as a special feature. But it will only become a problem when it falls in value and up to now, most of those who bought bitcoin won’t be complaining – so far. With Metal you get 0.1% cashback on all purchases in Europe and 1%

outside it – which is negligible in the first instance and in the second, how often are you going to be spending money outside of Europe? Though it could come in handy for a trip to the States, for example, if these lockdowns ever end.

Revolut also makes a bit of a fuss about its metal card which is made of actual metal and can be customised. That doesn’t rock my boat but might appeal to some.

The gimmicks we critiqued in the past are still there but under pressure to move more people onto its paid-for accounts, it is starting to add some real value too. I would also like Revolut to start making money, to improve customer service – we have heard some horror stories – and also to become a real bank regulated and protected in Ireland. But it has enough goodies to make a free account attractive, and to make it worth at least considering a premium one.

To get the best of both worlds – actual branches and the best of fintech – why not open a free Revolut account and then another one with a traditional outfit like An Post, a credit union that doesn’t have charges, or the EBS, which offers free banking?