Revolut Review: What it is and How it works

It is now well known that the future of the banking sector is online. Today, thanks to the power of home banking, it is possible to carry out financial transactions directly from our smartphone or PC, without having to physically enter a bank.

In recent years, banks that operate only online have become increasingly popular.

Among the various online institutions, is one of the most important, innovative and functional: Revolut.

Revolut LTD is a UK based financial company founded in 2015 and its product, the Revolut app, boasts more than 35 million private customers and over 500,000 business customers.

The advantages over traditional accounts are various and clear, especially in terms of management and/or administrative costs: commissions which "normal banks" cannot compete with.

As for the functions and services offered, the Revolut app proves to be a strong suited option, as it offers:

• A currency exchange, a tool that allows you to convert GBP into over 150 different currencies
• The possibility to buy shares with commissions starting from 1 GBP
• Trading and holding of cryptocurrencies
• The Vaults
• Insurance products

Online banking and security are two topics that need to be closely aligned. In recent years, many accounts have been breached through phishing and ransomware attacks, both due to vulnerabilities in the protection systems of the banks themselves, and/or through incorrect actions by account holders.

Revolut, a company with over 7,500 employees, has a team dedicated exclusively to security that works every day to improve the efficiency of protection services such as:

• Fingerprint identification, necessary to access the account and confirm operations
• Sherlock anti-fraud security system to send real-time alerts on fraudulent activities thanks to localization systems. If Revolut perceives suspicious activities (e.g. the location of your smartphone indicates London but a payment is made in Bristol) it blocks it and immediately notifies the customer
• The ability to create disposable virtual cards and customized features for spending limits, withdrawals, online and/or swipe payments.

From this section, you can also change the settings related to the app, request assistance from customer service, change your rate plan, view the details of insurance coverage and use the concierge.

Trading on the Revolut app is very straightforward. The platform is dedicated to non-professional private clients, so no advanced features are available. However, the convenience of being able to carry out all operations from a single application is significant and allows a user to save a lot of time.

Converting your GBP into other fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies is very simple. Just find the Accounts section, press the Exchange button and select the currency you want to convert and the one you want to receive.

To trade shares, go to the Dashboard section and select Stocks.
After accepting the terms and conditions of the service, Revolut will open an account dedicated exclusively to the trading of shares.

After funding your account, you will be able to buy shares by choosing from a wide range of products on the platform.

After selecting the company you want to buy shares from, just click the Buy button to carry out the first transaction.

The Revolut Robo-Advisor is an automatic investing option: the money is managed by a real virtual advisor. Thus, it is a mathematical algorithm (robot) that chooses the investment, independently and according to user-defined parameters.

How does it work? The functioning is simple. Simply select Robo-Advisor from the Revolut dashboard. You will then create a diversified securities portfolio, consisting of between 5 and 6 ETFs. The process is intuitive and accessible to all investors. The steps are as follows:

1. Choose your portfolio target: e.g. capital accumulation, inflation protection, savings for a purchase, retirement, etc.
2. Indicates your risk tolerance: low, medium or high
3. Set the time horizon: more than 10 years, 5-10 years, 2-5 years, up to 2 years
4. Enter the starting investment: the minimum amount starts from 100€
5. Indicates recurring deposit: this is a customisable value

Once these questions have been answered, the Robo-Advisor will suggest the most suitable portfolio for you, selecting ETFs with a basket of securities consisting of stocks, bonds or other assets, based precisely on the parameters indicated. It is the Robo-Advisor that manages where to invest subsequent deposits, to reach the set goal in the shortest period.

Based on the answers entered during the profiling steps, you will be suggested one of the five portfolios currently available, which in order from most protective to most aggressive are:

• Defensive
• Slow and Steady
• Balanced Bundle
• Bold Stack
• Aggressive Growth

Robo-Advisor Revolut costs

There is no monthly fee, but a 0.75% commission is charged on the annual amount invested, with payment deferred over 12 months. You can release the funds at any time: within 4 days they will be in your account, without penalty.

Robo-Advisor Revolut pros and cons

The Robo-Advisor offered by Revolut could be useful for those who want to invest but have no financial knowledge or time to commit to the markets. Returns are not high, except if the risk index is increased. Moreover, constant monitoring of one's investment is required.