Wise Business vs Revolut Business: UK Company Costs and Controls

Start with the company and the payment it needs to make. This guide compares Wise Business and Revolut Business for a UK limited company, using published UK terms checked on 3 October 2026. A personal travel account, a US business plan and a UK company account cannot be compared by putting their headline prices in one column.

Confirm that the business can open the account#

Revolut’s UK eligibility guidance lists limited companies among its supported legal entities and excludes freelancers and sole traders from this Business product. A sole trader should check an eligible product separately. Both providers can review the company’s activity, ownership and documents; a supported legal form does not guarantee approval.

Published UK costs and team features#

These are published plan terms, not a guarantee of the final price for every payment. For Wise, supported domestic non-SWIFT receipts can be free, while wire or SWIFT receiving charges depend on the currency. For Revolut, distinguish an international transfer from a local one rather than assuming a currency conversion uses an international-transfer allowance. Optional services can add costs.

A £10,000 monthly conversion example#

Assume a company converts £10,000 during market hours in a supported currency, has used none of that month’s allowance, and incurs no separate transfer or receiving fees. Using the published allowance rules, Revolut Basic costs £10 + 0.6% × (£10,000 − £1,000) = £64. Grow costs £30 because the conversion fits within its £15,000 allowance. This is a fee illustration, not a live exchange-rate quote.

For Wise, call the actual conversion and transfer quote W. Its recurring payment cost is W under these assumptions; the first month also includes £50 if receiving account details are being activated. There is no honest numerical winner until W and the amount delivered are known. A lower fee can still accompany a less favourable exchange rate or a receiving-bank charge. Compare how many euros, dollars or other agreed units the supplier receives at the same quote time.

Match the account to the recurring work#

Run the same acceptance exercise for both products: create a supplier, prepare a payment, approve it with a different person where required, export the transaction and reconcile it to the invoice. Record which actions the operator can perform and which require a paid plan. Do not label a feature absent because a pricing page does not describe it.

Understand protection before holding a large balance#

For ordinary balances with Wise Payments Ltd, Wise describes safeguarding: customer funds are kept separate from operating funds using cash, secure liquid assets and a comparable guarantee. Wise Payments Ltd is not a bank, and its e-money and payment services are not covered by FSCS. Wise Assets is a separate investment service and should not be treated as the ordinary account balance.

Revolut’s current UK guidance distinguishes the account transition. Before transition, funds with Revolut Ltd are safeguarded. After the Business account transitions to Revolut Bank UK Ltd, eligible deposits receive FSCS protection rather than safeguarding. The guidance states a £120,000 limit for eligible deposits held by a separate legal entity; excluded business categories exist. Check the account agreement, transition notice and FSCS information sheet for the actual company. A bank launch announcement alone does not establish that a particular account has transitioned.

Reconcile the supplier obligation and the bank movement#

Keep the supplier invoice, agreed recipient amount, conversion quote, fees and transfer reference together. An account balance or a submission acknowledgement is not evidence that the supplier has been paid. If a transfer times out, mark the attempt pending and check its existing reference with the provider before retrying or paying through the other account. An unresolved attempt plus a fallback transfer can pay the same invoice twice.

Choose the product after comparing a representative month and demonstrating the required permissions. Keep the dated quote and plan selection with the decision so finance can revisit it when volume or pricing changes.