Differences in Revolut accounts (US-based, UK-based, EU-based)

For those with Revolut accounts and you are domiciled in various countries…

Are there any distinction in your Revolut accounts if you had opened it from the USA, from the UK or from the EU? I assume each and every Revolut account comes with an IBAN (still Lithuanian I think?), and ability to create/open “borderless” accounts in multiple currencies e.g. GBP, EUR, USD, PLN, NOK.

Or is the only difference being the kind of document you submit for KYC (e.g. US passport/driver license for USA-based customer, UK passport/DL for UK-based customer, etc etc)?

I thought I knew the answer to this until a relative asked me for the specifics. :grimacing: :grimacing:

Thanks all!

I can’t believe no one has ANY answers to any of the above. I know many of you are Revolut customers out there!
:face_with_monocle: :face_with_monocle:
In any case, I think I was able to figure out by asking various forums so here they are for your reference. You’re welcome. :upside_down_face:

Are there any distinction in your Revolut accounts if you had opened it from the USA, from the UK or from the EU?

Not really from the perspective of account opening, same app, same process, but if you’re signing up from the EU, they will assume you’re an EU resident (and will try to identify you that way, e.g. asking for EU passport, ID, driver license, etc) as well as an EU tax resident. Signing up from the US and they’ll assume you’re a US resident and tax resident (and they’ll ask for the corresponding ID documents). If. you’re a nomad or temporary resident in the EU with a non-EU citizenship, they ask you to take a pic of your visa. No options to upload your utility bill, bank statement, etc like all other EMIs.

I assume each and every Revolut account comes with an IBAN (still Lithuanian I think?), and ability to create/open “borderless” accounts in multiple currencies e.g. GBP, EUR, USD, PLN, NOK.

EU-based accounts come with EUR account with an LT (Lithuanian) IBAN for domestic (SEPA) payment/transfer. You can open additional currencies but they ALL will get the SAME LT IBAN (I checked), with the exception of GBP where they will give you a UK Sort Code & Account Number to be used for receiving/sending domestic payment in GBP. So yeah it looks weird that you can open a USD balance but don’t get the normal ABA routing/checking account number for it; pray someone in the U.S. understand how to send a SWIFT transfer to your LT IBAN. :slight_smile:

I would then assume that US-based accounts (since they are serviced by a U.S. based bank) will give you ABA routing/checking account numbers, BUT I did hear that you do not get a EUR account. :frowning: You can open a GBP (and get the UK sort code & account number). No idea about the other currencies.

All in all, this ain’t Wise. No concept of borderless accounts (“get paid like a local”) unless “local” means UK (for all customers), EU (for EU customers) or US (for US customers). The Revolut visa works the same way as Wise cards, they draw money from the bucket of currencies you’ve set up.

3 Likes

thank you yourself for stepping in with such information of great benefit to the community. :heart_eyes:

1 Like

I tried to open a Revolut account today but managed to *&&%$ it up! I tried to set it up using my Irish address, etc but made the mistake of having my Canadian SIM inserted. I ended with a you are in the ‘queue’ if we ever bother to allow Canadians to have our services message. So put in Irish SIM and started with the process again. Got a “This phone already registered with a different number”.
So I am snookered for that. Waiting to see if they respond to a FBIM.

Bummer dude. It never occurred to me they’re also checking for what phone number (country code & all) you sign up with. I guess I made a point of having multiple (cheap/Android) phones so I know what SIM is in what phone at all times. Let’s hope they’re able to resolve that without too much of a hassle, feel free to post an update.

And just as an aside, beginning Jul 1, 2022 all of our Revolut EMI accounts (at least for the EU-based ones) have been converted to Revolut Bank UAB (based in Lithuania). Same look, same IBAN account & debit card numbers & everything (except for the new 100,000euro guarantee that they won’t run away with your money :wink: )

I have also heard, but have not yet confirmed that Revolut uses the same IBAN info for different currencies. So after you have transferred money in one currency you can not deposit from the same bank with a different currency. (With the exception of GBP) Not a show stopper for me. I am trying to fill a hole (SEK) on currencies I cannot spend without any conversion. Hoping Revolut will do this.

1 Like

@DCA Yep they do (similar IBAN info for all currencies except GBP - British Pounds), at least for EU-based Revolut account. All IBANs are LT (Lithuanian) since that is where the bank is accredited. The only (NeoBank) that has SEK (Swedish Kroner) is bunq (out of the Netherlands) - they have multicurrency accounts a la Revolut, the only difference is their IBANs are GB (United Kingdom based). They have other obscure currencies too (PLN, AED, BGN, etc etc) all with GB IBANs.

1 Like

I managed to contact Revolut via Facebook and they deleted my "account " and retried with Irish sim and Irish VPN and process was surprisingly smooth and quick.

No joy with all currencies. Seems AML rules still are a pain for some. For CAD and USD the need for a wire transfer makes Revolut a bit of a pain…someday I will even be able to use North Korean won.

@DCA - glad it all worked out somehow. It’s all relative, by the way. If you’re opening a Revolut account for the purpose of getting a European IBAN (in this case Lithuanian) AND you mostly deal with EUR, then EU-based Revolut is what you want.

However if you deal with USD more, then US (or CA) based Revolut probably suit you best. My understanding is you do not get a European IBAN if you open a US (or CA) based Revolut. Yes, as I mentioned above EU-based Revolut gives you an IBAN even for USD and CAD, making it necessary for folks to send you transfer via SWIFT instead of the usual ABA number/Account Number.