Banking Without Borders
Banking Without Borders is a podcast about modern money — from digital banks and cashback cards to savings, credit cards, FX, global accounts, and the financial products reshaping how people manage money in the UK and beyond.
We focus less on hype and more on what actually matters: who a product is for, how it makes money, where the trade-offs are, and whether it’s genuinely worth using.
If you want clear thinking, real-world context, and fewer buzzwords and less BS when it comes to banking, cards, and personal finance, this is the podcast.
Banking Without Borders
Should Revolut Be Your Main Bank Account?
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode of Banking Without Borders, we ask the big question now that Revolut is a proper UK bank: should it be your main bank account?
We break down what actually matters in a main bank account, from trust and FSCS protection to support, savings, rewards, travel spending and everyday usability. We also look at where Revolut genuinely stands out, where it falls short, and whether the app-first experience is enough to replace Barclays, HSBC, Monzo, Lloyds, Starling, Nationwide, Chase or Zopa.
We cover:
- What Revolut’s UK banking status changes
- Whether FSCS protection makes Revolut more trustworthy
- The strengths and weaknesses of Revolut support
- Everyday banking features like pockets, salary sorting and virtual cards
- Whether Revolut is still a top choice for travel spending
- Why its savings rates may disappoint
- Whether RevPoints are worth anything on the free plan
- Who Revolut works best for, and who should probably stick with a different bank
If you’ve been wondering whether Revolut is finally ready to be your salary account, this episode is for you.
Connect with us (via LinkedIn)
Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/
Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease
Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com
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Okay. Welcome back to another
episode of Banking Without Borders.
00:00:02:11 - 00:00:04:23
So Revolut is now a proper UK bank.
00:00:04:23 - 00:00:06:12
Welcome to my bank.
00:00:06:12 - 00:00:08:17
Yes. Revolute is a bank.
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And that matters because for years
the big question with Revolut
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wasn't
whether or not the app was any good,
00:00:13:14 - 00:00:15:09
because I think most of us agree
that it is.
00:00:15:09 - 00:00:19:03
The question was, would you actually
trust Revolut as your main bank account?
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You know, the place
where your salary lands,
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your direct debits
come out, your savings exist.
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Basically the account
that runs your financial life.
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Now with fscs protection
coming into the picture.
00:00:29:16 - 00:00:32:18
That conversation
is changing incredibly quickly.
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And I think over the next few months
00:00:34:01 - 00:00:36:09
there is going to be
a huge amount of marketing,
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a lot of hype, and a lot of people
asking the same question,
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should I actually switch to Revolut?
00:00:42:06 - 00:00:45:07
So in this episode we want to look at what
that actually means in practice.
00:00:45:08 - 00:00:49:04
Can Revolut replace Barclays, HSBC, Monzo,
Lloyds,
00:00:49:09 - 00:00:54:05
nationwide, Starling Cru, Halifax, Chase,
Zopa, whoever you currently use.
00:00:54:07 - 00:00:57:05
And to answer that, we're going to
put them through the ultimate stress test.
00:00:57:05 - 00:01:01:19
going to rate their everyday app features,
look at their travel perks and discuss
00:01:01:19 - 00:01:04:16
the paid
to Save trap with their interest rates
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and see if their rewards program
is worth it for the free account.
00:01:08:00 - 00:01:08:13
But yeah,
00:01:08:13 - 00:01:10:12
before we put Revolut
under the microscope,
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I think we should outline what actually
makes a good main bank account.
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And this is difficult, right?
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Because it's very subjective.
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Like some people will desperately want
cash deposits while others care
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just about the best savings rates.
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your salary,
stays available whenever you need it.
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So you don't want any, any unexplained
freezes that are difficult to resolved?
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I think that's the
the absolute most important thing that,
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that a bank account needs to, do.
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Then obviously you need to,
have the availability to handle the unsexy
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parts of, of of life, let's call them
like that, setting up direct debits,
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making sure your bills are being paid,
without any friction.
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And then ideally, a good, good support.
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I think that would be also pretty useful
also, in case something happens.
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I mean, it's rare
that things happen nowadays, but they can,
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you can get your card cloned,
you can lose your card,
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you can get locked out of your account.
00:02:01:14 - 00:02:05:08
You want to make sure that, whenever you
have that problem, you can reach someone
00:02:05:11 - 00:02:06:20
to solve the problem for you.
00:02:06:20 - 00:02:11:00
ideally, depending on your life goals,
you need to make sure
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that the bank account
can grow with your, with your wealth.
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So ideally, you know, if you get started,
let's say with a savings account
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and you decide later on
you'd like to, to handle the investment
00:02:20:07 - 00:02:22:15
through your bank as well. You main bank.
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Oh, be beneficial
if your, your bank already provided
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good conditions to do that.
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Not a dealbreaker if it doesn't.
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But I think it's always really,
really good to have.
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And then also if you're a frequent
traveler making sure that this card
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that you get from, from your bank
can be used internationally without,
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insane fees.
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need to be able to absolutely
trust your bank.
00:02:41:18 - 00:02:44:04
it's literally holding your life savings
potentially. Right.
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Or your house deposit.
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And if you can't do that,
it should not be your main bank account.
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Yeah I think immediately
the fscs protection enables
00:02:53:13 - 00:02:56:14
a level of trust I think that people will
gain or Revolut will gain.
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I should say,
you know, it gives you 120,000 pounds,
00:03:00:12 - 00:03:03:15
protection on deposits
and 240 K for joint account.
00:03:03:15 - 00:03:06:09
So that's certainly going to give people
some greater trust.
00:03:06:09 - 00:03:09:06
You know, from a fraud prevention
perspective, Revolut
00:03:09:06 - 00:03:12:19
are doing a great deal
and trying to keep their customers
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money safe on the I read in their 2025
report that a third of their employee base
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is now working on financial crime
prevention.
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That is globally,
but they're taking that very seriously.
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They've also
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launched some pretty interesting features,
one of them being street mode,
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which is like a really aggressive
anti-theft feature.
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So if you're away from a trusted location,
like your house or office
00:03:35:07 - 00:03:40:03
and you try to make a transfer over
a set limit, the app will, delay that
00:03:40:03 - 00:03:44:09
transaction by an hour and to release
that transaction, you have to do a selfie.
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Now, some people might say,
wow, that is possibly going too far.
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I think I think at its core,
it just reinforces how seriously, Revolut
00:03:52:02 - 00:03:55:18
are taking,
protecting their customers deposits.
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Because I don't know about you, buddy, but
I've certainly read things in the news.
00:03:59:11 - 00:04:01:10
The new seems to target Revolut, if any.
00:04:01:10 - 00:04:04:14
Think about, like, scamming articles
and stuff and they're often referenced.
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I think as a result of that,
they're trying to do more to protect their
00:04:08:18 - 00:04:09:12
customers.
00:04:09:12 - 00:04:12:10
I think they go a lot further
than a lot of legacy banks do.
00:04:12:10 - 00:04:13:01
Oh, yeah.
00:04:13:01 - 00:04:16:05
when it comes to feeling secure, you know,
feeling like your money is secure
00:04:16:05 - 00:04:19:16
with Revolut, beyond
making like a real fundamental,
00:04:19:16 - 00:04:24:08
I think it's quite difficult to be scammed
or to be misled with Revolut.
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They even have like a verification in-app
calling verification thing
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on the On the Revolut app.
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So if you get a phone call from someone
claiming to be from Revolut,
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you can check your app
to see if that is legitimate.
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Monzo have this as well.
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And I think that's.
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Yeah, that's a nice feature as well.
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Support. Yeah.
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You mentioned support.
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We know that Revolut
don't have physical branches. Right buddy?
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So if something goes wrong,
you can't drive or walks
00:04:48:20 - 00:04:51:20
to the local Revolut branch
and talk to someone.
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Revolut mainly uses, the I said, but,
which apparently can resolve up
00:04:57:12 - 00:05:03:01
to, 70 or over 75% of, customer queries,
directly on their, on their own.
00:05:03:01 - 00:05:06:07
And that helped, reduce resolution
times by over 40%.
00:05:06:07 - 00:05:07:23
It's what they claimed
in the last annual report
00:05:07:23 - 00:05:11:04
that just released, think there's,
probably two sides to a story.
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On one hand, I appreciate that,
that they did help people.
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Sort of simple questions fast.
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On the other hand, someone who has used
AI chatbot to very different services,
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I find it very, very frustrating
in many cases, trying to get,
00:05:24:19 - 00:05:26:21
get in touch with an actual human
because I'm someone
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if it's a simple problem,
rather try to solve it myself.
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And I only really use the support if
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if it's a fundamental thing, you know,
if it's a fundamental thing that involves,
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another human on the end
in order to get resolved.
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Yeah.
00:05:41:21 - 00:05:45:09
comfortable dealing mainly with AI chat,
but but that's subjective, right?
00:05:45:09 - 00:05:47:22
That's, not necessarily a disadvantage.
00:05:47:22 - 00:05:51:16
I mean, I appreciate that that exists
and they're probably one step ahead of,
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of current legacy banks,
which were yeah, undoubtedly,
00:05:55:10 - 00:05:58:10
launched it
in the next couple of years as well.
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I mean, it's just how the industry
yeah, yeah, I think it's inevitable.
00:06:02:06 - 00:06:04:18
It's going to get harder and harder
to reach human for support.
00:06:04:18 - 00:06:06:05
It's a bit of a double edged
sword, isn't it?
00:06:06:05 - 00:06:10:03
Because Revolut really work hard to keep
your account secure, but it is possible
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that you will be frozen from your account
as a result of that security.
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It's happened to me
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previously when I tried to log in
from like, a a foreign, computer,
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I was brought Revolut some reason froze
my account.
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I had to take a photo
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with some numbers on a piece of paper
to get it verified and unfrozen,
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your account could be frozen,
which is kind of going to scare you.
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You're going to panic.
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And it might also be difficult then
to speak to someone to get it resolved.
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I'm actually right now,
Yann, as we talk on Revolut support,
00:06:36:10 - 00:06:39:11
trying to get through to a human,
I started about two minutes ago.
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Everybody's listening.
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I'll update you as I progress, but I've
currently requested to speak to a human.
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I want to talk about their Trustpilot
quickly.
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And, if you're someone that takes
Trustpilot scores, customer satisfaction
00:06:50:12 - 00:06:53:19
scores seriously, that Trustpilot
might be quite compelling for you.
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I looked at ten providers,
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and for those that are watching this right
now, I'll put it up on the screen.
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But Yann Revolut, from these ten
providers, a mixture of legacy
00:07:02:07 - 00:07:07:14
and digital, sit right at the top
with a 4.7 from 377,000 reviews.
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mean that they're necessarily better
than all these other legacy banks
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which, which perform quite. badly.
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I don't know, to be honest,
because, a good Trustpilot store typically
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just indicates that the company cares
Yeah.
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investing resources in trying to get the
customer to customers, to leave reviews.
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And typically that happens
once they've had,
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some sort of, you know, happy moment
with within the app, some success.
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Maybe they've received money.
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I don't know
exactly how Revolut does that.
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But yeah, you ask typically
happy customers to leave reviews.
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that's just what this is showing.
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On the other hand, it also shows that,
that are obviously not a majority
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of people that think negatively
of Revolut, which is a good thing.
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But I would not say necessarily
they are much, much better than networks.
00:07:47:15 - 00:07:49:16
For example,
which are on the bottom of the table.
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But we know for a fact that they have
many, many very satisfied customers.
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We've had a, a few
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a few commenters recommending networks,
a few Yeah.
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it's it's just not, yeah.
00:08:01:15 - 00:08:03:07
Not, not the full story in my opinion.
00:08:03:07 - 00:08:06:07
Let's talk about everyday
spending in everyday banking and
00:08:06:16 - 00:08:08:09
Johnny,
we could literally have a whole episode
00:08:08:09 - 00:08:10:12
just discussing features
that Revolut provides.
00:08:10:12 - 00:08:13:05
I think they're truly standing out
in terms of features.
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Probably the best.
00:08:14:06 - 00:08:15:06
Yeah.
00:08:15:06 - 00:08:18:02
The best banking app on the market,
in my opinion.
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Oh, okay. Okay.
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with, one thing that I find, pretty,
pretty interesting if you consider making
00:08:23:16 - 00:08:26:07
Revolut your main bank account
and it's the fact that you can
00:08:26:07 - 00:08:29:06
you can connect other accounts
for free, to your Revolut account
00:08:29:06 - 00:08:32:07
in order to see all of your balances
within one massive dashboard.
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That's something that, Monzo provides,
have to pay.
00:08:35:10 - 00:08:36:19
I believe it's 3 pounds for it.
00:08:36:19 - 00:08:38:18
many legacy banks don't offer this at all.
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something I absolutely love is,
00:08:40:10 - 00:08:43:15
the fact that you can just set up
a free virtual cart within revolute.
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And if you want to,
00:08:44:09 - 00:08:47:11
you can also set up disposable cards,
which I've done actually a few times.
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Typically when setting up, you know,
when taking advantage of free trials.
00:08:51:21 - 00:08:52:03
Right.
00:08:52:03 - 00:08:56:14
Because I don't fully trust many services,
that actually cancel the subscription
00:08:56:14 - 00:08:57:17
when I click on cancel.
00:08:57:17 - 00:09:00:03
I've had a few times
that it continued to run through,
00:09:00:03 - 00:09:03:08
and having a disposable card with a low
limit is Yeah.
00:09:03:12 - 00:09:04:20
Joint and accounts.
00:09:04:20 - 00:09:06:16
It's also something
that can be interesting.
00:09:06:16 - 00:09:10:16
Not for everyone, you're living solo, or,
you know, you don't
00:09:10:16 - 00:09:13:03
you don't have a family at all, then,
this is not not for you.
00:09:13:03 - 00:09:16:03
But if you do, it's cool
that Revolut provides it, in
00:09:16:12 - 00:09:20:02
You can share transaction
histories, get, matching cards,
00:09:20:11 - 00:09:24:19
and also use, budgeting rules,
which I think I smart pockets joining.
00:09:24:20 - 00:09:27:03
I think that's something
you want to talk about.
00:09:27:03 - 00:09:30:09
really like smart pockets
particularly from a budgeting perspective.
00:09:30:09 - 00:09:34:16
This is where you can segregate
or ring fence funds and then have bills
00:09:34:16 - 00:09:39:11
specific bills that you can select be
withdrawn or debited from those pockets.
00:09:39:11 - 00:09:42:21
And the salary sort of feature
as well will essentially take your salary
00:09:42:21 - 00:09:44:07
and can sort it into different pockets.
00:09:44:07 - 00:09:46:00
So they work really nicely together.
00:09:46:00 - 00:09:48:09
I think that's super beneficial
from an organization
00:09:48:09 - 00:09:50:00
or budgeting perspective, just making sure
00:09:50:00 - 00:09:53:07
that you don't accidentally overspend
one month or spend your bill money.
00:09:53:08 - 00:09:55:01
interlinked
with the salary sort of feature
00:09:55:01 - 00:09:56:15
is also something known as early pay.
00:09:56:15 - 00:09:59:15
Revolut are actually able
to foresee your salary
00:09:59:15 - 00:10:02:18
coming into the account
and pay you slightly earlier.
00:10:02:18 - 00:10:05:18
Traditionally, Bacs
payments can take three days to clear.
00:10:05:20 - 00:10:09:12
Legacy banks usually hold the funds
until the morning of your actual pay day.
00:10:09:12 - 00:10:10:03
But Revolut.
00:10:10:03 - 00:10:10:18
they see it
00:10:10:18 - 00:10:14:19
and they can pay you one working day early
by essentially lending you that money.
00:10:14:20 - 00:10:19:03
I think all of this is incredibly useful
it really a game changer
00:10:19:03 - 00:10:22:15
when you when you look at a at making
a bank account, you mean bank account?
00:10:22:15 - 00:10:25:09
Probably not.
But it's great to have that right.
00:10:25:09 - 00:10:27:15
It's something that many other banks
don't Good question. Yeah.
00:10:27:15 - 00:10:30:18
And it falls back again
to the subjective notion at the beginning
00:10:30:18 - 00:10:34:10
of the episode whereby like some people
I think you're going to love that feature.
00:10:34:13 - 00:10:34:23
Oh yeah.
00:10:35:22 - 00:10:38:23
like the idea of cash access.
00:10:39:07 - 00:10:41:12
Right. You've. disadvantage, right?
00:10:41:12 - 00:10:42:10
we know for a fact
00:10:42:10 - 00:10:46:11
that withdrawing money with revolute
standard is typically very, very limited.
00:10:46:11 - 00:10:50:17
You have a 200 pounds allowance
per month or three five free withdrawals.
00:10:50:17 - 00:10:53:08
Sorry for that.
They're now starting to roll out ATMs.
00:10:53:08 - 00:10:55:11
Revolute, branded ATMs.
I've actually seen one.
00:10:55:11 - 00:10:57:14
In parent is free to withdraw money
from them.
00:10:57:14 - 00:10:58:12
that's, that's a.
00:10:58:12 - 00:11:02:02
Yeah, maybe a step into the direction
of solving this problem.
00:11:02:06 - 00:11:06:06
However, there's one,
one thing I'll definitely, Yeah.
00:11:06:06 - 00:11:06:22
Criticize.
00:11:06:22 - 00:11:09:21
If I wanted to make Revolut my main
bank account, you can't deposit
00:11:11:08 - 00:11:12:04
within the UK.
00:11:12:04 - 00:11:13:19
And you were able to do that?
00:11:13:19 - 00:11:16:19
They charge a fee in the past, but,
00:11:17:13 - 00:11:20:13
I, I wonder,
00:11:20:22 - 00:11:23:01
I wonder, Yann, if there are any other UK
00:11:23:01 - 00:11:26:01
banks fully licensed
that don't have cash deposits.
00:11:26:07 - 00:11:28:09
I'd have to check Cru.
00:11:28:09 - 00:11:30:08
Maybe someone in the comments
can let us know.
00:11:30:08 - 00:11:34:02
I'd have to check Cru, but I feel like
00:11:34:02 - 00:11:37:22
as a result of this, I guess
license authorization.
00:11:37:22 - 00:11:40:10
They need to re initiate cash deposits.
00:11:40:10 - 00:11:41:16
They were available.
00:11:41:16 - 00:11:43:14
I think they discontinued in February.
00:11:43:14 - 00:11:45:20
The fee structure was pretty awful.
00:11:45:20 - 00:11:48:20
I think you had to go to a pay point
and it was pretty expensive to deposit.
00:11:49:00 - 00:11:50:15
But they need to do something.
00:11:50:15 - 00:11:52:22
They need to do something.
Just a quick sidetrack here.
00:11:52:22 - 00:11:54:13
I have been put through to support.
00:11:54:13 - 00:11:57:23
I'll pop a screenshot on the on the
on the video for those who are watching.
00:11:57:23 - 00:12:02:01
It took, 4 to 5 minutes
to speak to a human on in-app support.
00:12:02:01 - 00:12:03:22
Yeah, and so that's not too bad.
00:12:03:22 - 00:12:06:12
4 to 5 minutes. That's not, That's not.
00:12:06:12 - 00:12:07:15
Yeah. It's not a lot.
00:12:07:15 - 00:12:13:01
probably assume if you wanted to call,
HSBC, or some other legacy bank,
00:12:13:01 - 00:12:15:16
it would probably take much longer
to be put through.
00:12:15:16 - 00:12:17:21
But it's just my assumption, obviously.
00:12:17:21 - 00:12:18:16
You know, if you're, you're
00:12:18:16 - 00:12:22:22
an HSBC user listening to this right now,
if you're free to comment, if you've I'm
00:12:23:23 - 00:12:24:11
if you went to a
00:12:24:11 - 00:12:28:05
branch and,
you try to get your issue resolved there,
00:12:28:07 - 00:12:31:07
how long did it take
until it was your turn?
00:12:31:17 - 00:12:34:17
think 4 to 5 minutes is actually Yeah.
00:12:35:05 - 00:12:36:19
It's. I believe it's a human.
00:12:36:19 - 00:12:38:02
I believe it's a human.
00:12:38:02 - 00:12:40:16
you're in Revolut standard right. Journey.
You're revolute standard.
00:12:40:16 - 00:12:43:04
You're not paying for faster
response times.
00:12:43:04 - 00:12:43:08
Yeah.
00:12:43:08 - 00:12:46:14
We haven't even mentioned the fact
that you can actually pay to get priority
00:12:46:14 - 00:12:47:05
in app chat.
00:12:47:05 - 00:12:48:09
And I'm using the standard one,
00:12:48:09 - 00:12:51:22
so that possibly would have been
even faster if I was at plus premium
00:12:52:11 - 00:12:53:10
metal and ultra.
00:12:53:10 - 00:12:56:14
And also we should mention that premium
metal and Ultra do
00:12:56:14 - 00:12:59:14
include in-app call support.
00:12:59:17 - 00:13:01:02
Yes. Yeah. Let's get into this.
00:13:01:02 - 00:13:03:19
This is a big one because traditionally
revolute were looked at.
00:13:03:19 - 00:13:04:20
Yeah fascinating.
00:13:04:20 - 00:13:09:01
Traditionally Revolut were looked at
as the go to card probably them and wise
00:13:09:06 - 00:13:12:13
for international spending particularly
when legacy banks were charging
00:13:12:13 - 00:13:13:14
heinous fees for it.
00:13:13:14 - 00:13:15:13
And they were
had the awful exchange rates.
00:13:15:13 - 00:13:16:23
But times have changed, buddy.
00:13:16:23 - 00:13:21:06
Legacy banks are offering decent rates,
and it's more now about which cards
00:13:21:09 - 00:13:24:19
you should avoid,
rather than which cards you should choose.
00:13:25:23 - 00:13:28:18
But unfortunately, Revolut have slipped
behind.
00:13:28:18 - 00:13:31:19
briefly mentioned ATM withdrawals
being limited
00:13:31:19 - 00:13:34:19
to 200 pounds on the standard account
of five withdrawals.
00:13:34:20 - 00:13:37:07
Well, the same obviously applies
internationally as well.
00:13:37:07 - 00:13:41:23
So getting cash with this account
is internationally is somewhat limited.
00:13:41:23 - 00:13:43:05
then there's the exchange rates.
00:13:43:05 - 00:13:46:13
Exchange rates is actually,
Yeah, a whole other topic.
00:13:46:13 - 00:13:48:19
So they they don't apply
the mid-market rate,
00:13:48:19 - 00:13:52:09
apply to revolute rate, which,
you know, it's okay.
00:13:52:10 - 00:13:54:08
It could be worse to be 100% flat.
00:13:54:08 - 00:13:56:01
Could be The great.
00:13:56:01 - 00:13:58:17
definitely not,
not close to the mid-market rate.
00:13:58:17 - 00:13:59:10
In many cases.
00:13:59:10 - 00:14:05:06
It's, Yeah, 0.25% to,
yeah, even even more than 1% off.
00:14:05:06 - 00:14:08:05
And I think that's just, that Yeah.
00:14:08:18 - 00:14:10:13
And it's not, not competitive nowadays.
00:14:10:13 - 00:14:13:13
I mean, when they first launched,
you know, when they first launched, they,
00:14:13:21 - 00:14:16:15
they were probably one of the standard
travel cards.
00:14:16:15 - 00:14:21:11
And we can be think for, did revolute
transform the whole UK banking market
00:14:21:11 - 00:14:25:05
into becoming more, more friendly
towards foreign transactions?
00:14:25:15 - 00:14:27:18
But now it's, it's it's kind of.
00:14:27:18 - 00:14:28:02
Yeah.
00:14:28:02 - 00:14:31:20
Ironic that they're just,
a little bit behind, the competitors
00:14:31:20 - 00:14:32:19
which have now picked up.
00:14:32:19 - 00:14:34:23
think ultimately there's a lot going on
00:14:34:23 - 00:14:38:00
in terms of fee structure for spending
internationally with Revolut, like
00:14:38:00 - 00:14:41:09
limited ATM withdrawals,
we can surcharges a fair usage limit.
00:14:41:17 - 00:14:43:00
This is for the free account.
00:14:43:00 - 00:14:46:19
Whereas Starling's free bank account uses
Mastercard's FX rates.
00:14:46:19 - 00:14:49:22
You get 300 pounds of ATM
withdrawals per day.
00:14:50:09 - 00:14:52:12
No fees. Simple.
00:14:52:12 - 00:14:54:15
It's like that for Firstdirect.
00:14:54:15 - 00:14:56:00
Yeah, it's it's like that for Zopa.
00:14:56:00 - 00:14:59:05
It's somewhat like it for Chase UK
where it's Revolut is a bit convoluted.
00:14:59:05 - 00:15:01:09
let's look at savings, buddy,
which I think is going to
00:15:01:09 - 00:15:04:07
be important factor for a lot of people,
particularly as we approach
00:15:04:07 - 00:15:07:15
the new tax year here in the UK
and the Isa limit refreshes.
00:15:07:22 - 00:15:10:22
think what Revolut is offering is okay,
but it's less than ideal.
00:15:10:22 - 00:15:13:22
So you get, extended,
you get 3% a year right now.
00:15:14:03 - 00:15:17:08
And then there's a,
can we call it this paywall?
00:15:17:08 - 00:15:18:09
I guess we can.
00:15:18:09 - 00:15:21:18
So if you if you,
if you pay, for, for a premium plan,
00:15:21:20 - 00:15:23:14
you know, 1 to 1 of Revolut,
it's paid plan.
00:15:23:14 - 00:15:27:13
You get a better interest rates in it
and that's, 3.25%
00:15:27:13 - 00:15:32:00
with premium, 3.51% with metal,
and I believe ultra, it's 4%.
00:15:32:02 - 00:15:33:04
Pay to save.
00:15:33:04 - 00:15:33:10
Yeah.
00:15:33:10 - 00:15:38:10
even 4% on the even
4%, is not competitive No.
00:15:38:16 - 00:15:41:07
you're looking for dedicated savings
account, there better options out there.
00:15:41:07 - 00:15:42:18
Have a look at the positive outcome.
00:15:42:18 - 00:15:44:09
Yeah I've got it up in front of me
right now.
00:15:44:09 - 00:15:47:11
So Tembo have an easy access thing
called the Home Saver, just for example.
00:15:47:11 - 00:15:49:17
That's offering 4.75%.
00:15:49:17 - 00:15:55:03
on an ISO trading 2124.66 with plum, 4.5
with Chase UK for new customers.
00:15:55:03 - 00:15:57:12
they're asking you to pay for ultra
to get the top tier account,
00:15:57:12 - 00:16:00:12
which is essentially saying,
you know, you've got to pay to save,
00:16:00:21 - 00:16:02:11
at a really good rate.
00:16:03:13 - 00:16:06:13
pounds
per month in order to get 4% a year.
00:16:06:14 - 00:16:08:11
I wish they had better rates.
00:16:08:11 - 00:16:10:03
Yeah, I wish they did.
00:16:10:03 - 00:16:14:21
They had a 4.5% of the start of the year
that was available to new users.
00:16:14:21 - 00:16:17:06
Unfortunately.
So they, they're not afraid to offer them.
00:16:17:06 - 00:16:20:08
And I think we will see
a rollout of better rates
00:16:20:08 - 00:16:23:18
from Revolut
same for a rollout of loans, right?
00:16:23:18 - 00:16:25:11
And credit cards and overdrafts.
00:16:25:11 - 00:16:25:14
Yeah.
00:16:25:14 - 00:16:28:14
Let's hope
let's hope they apply, low interest
00:16:29:17 - 00:16:31:07
I doubt it, I doubt it.
00:16:31:07 - 00:16:32:00
So we've seen it.
00:16:32:00 - 00:16:35:00
Yeah, I know it
00:16:38:09 - 00:16:42:15
So if in many EU markets
where they're already licensed
00:16:42:15 - 00:16:46:12
as a bank and deposit launched,
things like credit cards, vinyl
00:16:46:12 - 00:16:50:17
pay later products, personal loans,
mortgages, Yeah.
00:16:50:22 - 00:16:53:10
and now that they have the UK
banking license,
00:16:53:10 - 00:16:57:00
I think it's only a matter of time until
they launch these in in the UK as well.
00:16:57:12 - 00:17:00:06
I would even expect them to do
so this Yeah.
00:17:00:06 - 00:17:02:11
obviously I don't know the future.
00:17:02:11 - 00:17:05:11
And it's just a guess, but,
I think it's a good guess.
00:17:05:17 - 00:17:07:19
Let's,
let's have a look at the end of this year
00:17:07:19 - 00:17:10:02
and see if Revolut has launched
one of these products.
00:17:11:03 - 00:17:11:09
yeah.
00:17:11:09 - 00:17:13:08
I don't think we can spend
too much time on this section.
00:17:13:08 - 00:17:14:21
There's not a huge amount
to speak about and,
00:17:14:21 - 00:17:18:02
you know, the context of the UK, but this
I think that
00:17:18:03 - 00:17:22:05
I think there's an inevitability of a lot
of lending products in the future.
00:17:22:06 - 00:17:25:05
Like you
said, I'd be surprised if they didn't.
00:17:35:01 - 00:17:36:11
Yeah, yeah.
00:17:36:11 - 00:17:37:15
can get everything done, right.
00:17:37:15 - 00:17:39:23
You can get a, get a loan,
you can get a credit card,
00:17:39:23 - 00:17:43:15
you can get your debit card, you can you
can you can go ahead, invest money.
00:17:43:15 - 00:17:44:22
You can do many things.
00:17:44:22 - 00:17:47:09
credit card will mean greater
rewards on your spending.
00:17:47:09 - 00:17:50:13
We've seen that in the European markets
like Ireland, for example,
00:17:50:13 - 00:17:54:16
with Revolut Ultra customers
earning 1.5 points per per euro.
00:17:54:16 - 00:17:57:08
And if you're not sure about what
these points are, will,
00:17:57:08 - 00:18:00:08
they are ref points
and we've got dedicated episodes on them.
00:18:00:08 - 00:18:03:07
So if you'd like to learn more, we'll put
some links in the description box below.
00:18:03:07 - 00:18:04:17
just to focus mainly
00:18:04:17 - 00:18:07:20
on the standard free account,
I think that's that's where we should put
00:18:07:20 - 00:18:11:03
most of our focus on ref points,
because they're really not that rewarding,
00:18:11:11 - 00:18:13:10
are they? For for free users?
00:18:15:00 - 00:18:15:18
ten ridiculous.
00:18:15:18 - 00:18:18:18
Johnny I think I've in the last month
I've collected,
00:18:19:10 - 00:18:23:15
something like like like like 30,
30 rest points probably which is.
00:18:23:22 - 00:18:26:22
Yeah, useless, 100% 30 miles.
00:18:27:02 - 00:18:27:21
for every.
00:18:27:21 - 00:18:31:04
Yeah, we get one point for every,
10 pounds that you spent.
00:18:31:12 - 00:18:34:11
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:35:08 - 00:18:38:02
that's there's no,
no way it make sense at all.
00:18:38:02 - 00:18:40:14
I just ignore
00:18:40:14 - 00:18:43:06
I don't believe I'll ever reach
a significant amount of
00:18:43:06 - 00:18:44:18
of ref points in my account. Okay?
00:18:44:18 - 00:18:46:12
I don't use Revolut as my main bank.
00:18:46:12 - 00:18:49:12
But if it had a had a greater
reward scheme on a standard account,
00:18:50:07 - 00:18:52:19
would have would, would probably So it's.
00:18:52:19 - 00:18:54:06
Yeah, it's for now.
00:18:54:06 - 00:18:55:10
I'll just ignore it.
00:18:55:10 - 00:18:56:05
It's unfortunate.
00:18:56:05 - 00:18:58:08
If you pay for one of the better plans,
00:18:58:08 - 00:19:02:14
you obviously get a, a higher rate
in which you're receiving these rewards.
00:19:02:14 - 00:19:06:04
I think that goes up to one point
for every spend on, ultra,
00:19:07:07 - 00:19:10:07
then it can be
00:19:13:18 - 00:19:17:07
Yeah I mean look they're all Revolut shops
where you can earn multipliers.
00:19:17:07 - 00:19:22:08
There are opportunities to earn 20 x
for free forever points and that.
00:19:22:08 - 00:19:24:02
Yet that can be compelling. Yeah.
00:19:24:02 - 00:19:28:00
But again you know I think it's important
that you have a plan when it comes
00:19:28:00 - 00:19:29:09
to being rewarded on your spending.
00:19:29:09 - 00:19:32:22
And you want to pick something
that's going to generate the most rewards.
00:19:32:22 - 00:19:36:14
And red points for the standard account
just isn't that it's not going to get
00:19:37:05 - 00:19:40:21
it's not going to reward you as much
as spending with the American Express card
00:19:40:21 - 00:19:46:10
or with, I don't know, for example,
Santander edge trading two and two.
00:19:46:10 - 00:19:48:22
Perfect example. Yeah. Perfect example.
00:19:48:22 - 00:19:50:10
And like Yann said,
00:19:50:10 - 00:19:54:06
the red points they are
they only get better like most of Revolut.
00:19:54:07 - 00:19:58:04
In fact apart from those sort of everyday
incredibly powerful
00:19:58:04 - 00:19:59:09
banking features that they offer.
00:19:59:09 - 00:20:02:13
But they get better
as you scale up through the plans.
00:20:02:13 - 00:20:05:15
know, we haven't talked to that much yet
about the premium Metal
00:20:05:15 - 00:20:08:15
Ultra plan because we're here today
to talk about like, banking.
00:20:09:06 - 00:20:12:08
But yeah, if you can justify those plans
and you see some benefit
00:20:12:08 - 00:20:14:08
from the subscriptions
that they offer you,
00:20:14:08 - 00:20:17:01
then yeah, brave points
could be lucrative for you, but
00:20:17:01 - 00:20:18:06
unfortunately not for standard.
00:20:18:06 - 00:20:22:05
It's probably not wise to to to
to look at the standard for F points
00:20:22:07 - 00:20:25:02
There are a couple of other things
available that we should probably mention.
00:20:25:02 - 00:20:27:19
I mean, just briefly, you know,
you've got phone plans in there as well
00:20:27:19 - 00:20:30:19
if you'd like to have your banking
and your phone plans together.
00:20:31:02 - 00:20:33:06
Yeah. Fascinating. Those are available.
00:20:34:23 - 00:20:36:13
It's not too bad either.
00:20:36:13 - 00:20:39:18
12.50 pounds for a phone plan
and is okay here in the UK.
00:20:39:18 - 00:20:40:18
They're all better options.
00:20:40:18 - 00:20:43:09
I spend 8 pounds on O2
and there's always better
00:20:43:09 - 00:20:46:01
switch deals available,
but that's there if you want it.
00:20:46:01 - 00:20:50:14
But I think it's, at its core.
00:20:51:01 - 00:20:52:18
Yeah. And,
00:20:52:18 - 00:20:54:04
you know, let's forget about phone plans.
00:20:54:04 - 00:20:55:16
It's forget about rev points for a moment.
00:20:55:16 - 00:20:58:23
But at its core,
Revolut are offering a pretty compelling
00:20:58:23 - 00:21:01:23
sort of bank account in terms of like
00:21:02:12 - 00:21:05:13
products, analytics, budgeting tools.
00:21:05:13 - 00:21:09:17
Those exist, but it's not it's
not an all round account, is it?
00:21:09:17 - 00:21:12:16
Because we know that the travel isn't
that suitable?
00:21:12:16 - 00:21:14:02
I disagree with this.
00:21:14:02 - 00:21:16:09
but you disagree
and you think travel is okay.
00:21:16:09 - 00:21:16:21
I think.
00:21:16:21 - 00:21:18:07
No, I think
00:21:18:07 - 00:21:21:12
Revolut is an all round account,
and I think that's exactly what it is,
00:21:21:12 - 00:21:25:16
because to date, there's somewhat
good in every single segment
00:21:25:18 - 00:21:26:18
you need to consider.
00:21:26:18 - 00:21:29:20
If you, if you look to, to,
open up a bank account,
00:21:30:01 - 00:21:32:19
but you are not
standing out in any of Okay.
00:21:34:08 - 00:21:36:09
quite a, quite a good all round option.
00:21:36:09 - 00:21:40:09
If you're okay with, having a mediocre
interest rate,
00:21:40:14 - 00:21:42:11
you know, not a bad one,
but a mediocre one.
00:21:42:11 - 00:21:46:07
If you're okay with spending a little bit
on on foreign exchange.
00:21:46:14 - 00:21:48:02
Not a lot, but a little bit.
00:21:48:02 - 00:21:51:04
And if you're fine with,
you know, not getting the best rewards.
00:21:51:04 - 00:21:53:09
Then Revolut started as
00:21:53:09 - 00:21:56:01
I think that's,
that's exactly what Revolut is right now.
00:21:56:01 - 00:21:59:11
Solid, all round account of nothing
that really makes them stand out.
00:21:59:11 - 00:22:01:22
Besides the
the app and the great user experience.
00:22:01:22 - 00:22:04:22
it's a good basis to start from, you know,
and then you can go ahead and maybe look
00:22:04:22 - 00:22:09:17
at, yeah, other other, cards for travel,
cards that, provide better rewards,
00:22:10:07 - 00:22:13:11
order to, to really upgrade
your banking stack and make this more
00:22:13:22 - 00:22:15:09
I mean some people
will be listening to this,
00:22:15:09 - 00:22:17:18
John will be thinking
will them go cash deposits.
00:22:17:18 - 00:22:19:01
They've got physical branches.
00:22:19:01 - 00:22:22:02
So it's not surely not all round good.
00:22:22:05 - 00:22:23:21
I say that's a minority nowadays.
00:22:23:21 - 00:22:26:07
Certainly, we live in a digitalized world.
00:22:26:07 - 00:22:29:07
When was the last time you went ahead
and paid for something in Okay.
00:22:29:11 - 00:22:33:02
I'm I'm saying this because, ironically,
I'm selling my phone at the moment,
00:22:33:02 - 00:22:34:16
and tomorrow there will be a cash
00:22:36:07 - 00:22:37:11
And I'll be I'll be receiving
00:22:37:11 - 00:22:40:11
some cash, which I'd love to,
to deposit with my bank.
00:22:40:13 - 00:22:41:22
But it's. How often does that happen?
00:22:41:22 - 00:22:42:06
I have
00:22:42:06 - 00:22:46:12
had that phone for, for, for many years,
you know, so this is a an exception Okay.
00:22:46:20 - 00:22:50:13
I think I can live with just having
the cash and just trying to spend it,
00:22:50:17 - 00:22:51:18
in the supermarket.
00:22:51:18 - 00:22:52:11
Next Okay.
00:22:52:11 - 00:22:54:12
Well, I think if anyone listening to this
or watching
00:22:54:12 - 00:22:58:02
this wants to come into the comments
and let us know if cash deposits
00:22:58:02 - 00:23:01:06
or physical branches are important
to them, we'd love to hear from you.
00:23:01:17 - 00:23:05:00
We've had a lot of feedback in the past
from people that used nationwide,
00:23:05:00 - 00:23:09:01
for example, John, who actually find
branch access to be incredibly important.
00:23:10:00 - 00:23:10:07
And I
00:23:10:07 - 00:23:13:15
think for some people, Revolut
isn't going to be compelling.
00:23:13:15 - 00:23:17:06
It's going to be a turnoff as a result
of the lack of cash and branch access.
00:23:17:06 - 00:23:20:06
But there's also a subset of people
that will love the app
00:23:20:11 - 00:23:22:23
and will think it's
the most advanced thing they've ever used.
00:23:22:23 - 00:23:26:00
If you go from Nationwide's
app, for example,
00:23:26:15 - 00:23:30:09
into Revolut, its ecosystem,
it is drastically better,
00:23:30:09 - 00:23:33:09
the app at least, and the various features
that are available,
00:23:33:11 - 00:23:36:11
but again nationwide, also offer things
that Revolut don't offer.
00:23:37:06 - 00:23:39:14
pretty much everything
that has to be said about,
00:23:39:14 - 00:23:41:18
whether Revolut should be a main bank
account or not.
00:23:41:18 - 00:23:44:03
I'd be curious.
Do you disagree with what we set here?
00:23:44:03 - 00:23:47:02
Do I have a, judicial opinion?
00:23:47:02 - 00:23:48:16
A please write it into the comments.
00:23:48:16 - 00:23:50:14
And let us know. What do you think Yeah.
00:23:50:14 - 00:23:52:02
been a pleasure, as always.
00:23:52:02 - 00:23:54:03
And, Johnny,
is there anything to add from No.
00:23:54:03 - 00:23:57:05
But if you are feeling generous
give this video a like if you're watching
00:23:57:05 - 00:24:01:06
on YouTube, rate as five stars on Apple
or Spotify wherever you get your podcasts,
00:24:01:19 - 00:24:03:04
and we'll see you in the next episode.
00:24:04:21 - 00:24:05:15
Yeah.
00:24:05:15 - 00:24:06:03
Thanks everyone.