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I have kept a paid Revolut account for the last nearly two years, and it has performed flawlessly. The one time when I needed support, reply was prompt, polite

I have kept a paid Revolut account for the last nearly two years, and it has performed flawlessly. The one time when I needed support, reply was prompt, polite, professional, and to the point. This is service I use for day-to-day business. I never keep large sums there, so if the whole thing goes belly up one day, it will cause a shrug and not much more. Topping up from my 'real' bank - or wherever - is easy enough to do on the fly: I sometimes do so while queueing in the supermarket. Features I like, and which are apparently beyond the ability of my regular bank to offer: Virtual and diposible cards. I use these for all web transanctions. No need to spread the details of my physical card around, and I can temporarily lock any card number, should I feel the need. Also, the physical card is discreet of appearance; just a grey piece of plastic, not screaming my banking preference for the world to see. And a handy ability to instantly create a payment link where anyone can pay me via credit card. I happily pay my monthly fee. Service well worth it.

rsync 7y ago
"Features I like, and which are apparently beyond the ability of my regular bank to offer: Virtual and diposible cards." I am interested in using virtual/disposable cards ... Is it, in fact, correct that no "proper" US bank offers these ? What about paypal ? What is the most stable, boring, financial services provider that offers virtual cards ? Does anyone allow me to create a virtual card via API, the same way I can "create" a new phone number with Twilio ?
- ValentineC 7y ago
  > I am interested in using virtual/disposable cards ... > Is it, in fact, correct that no "proper" US bank offers these ? What about paypal ?* > What is the most stable, boring, financial services provider that offers virtual cards ? Most US-issued bank debit cards work with Privacy.com, I think.
angry_octet 7y ago
You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too). Revolut has been completely useless about this, and their chat teams are just there to waste your time. Multiple currencies and cheap exchange are great when you travel a lot, and virtual credit cards and a nice spending UI are nice to haves. But nothing makes up for being jerked around for hours because their system is broken and they won't fix it. Also, from an investment pov I think Apple Pay is going to crush them.
- interfixus 7y ago
  >>You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too) I may not. In fact, I have no idea what you mean by 'cash advance'. By HN standards I am pennyless, but wouldn't ever dream of spending or withdrawing money that I haven't got.
  - angry_octet 7y ago
    Calm down, I'm not saying you are poor. Banks have started treating top ups as cash advances, even when your account has a positive balance. This has logical sense because you can immediately withdraw that money as cash. For some reason Revolut is unable or unwilling to support normal cash transfer mechanisms.
    - interfixus 7y ago
      Okay, this is news to me. But then, my bank is not a US one. There is no money in my account that I cannot immediately withdraw as cash. That is sort of the whole point of my bank account, except of course it's mandatory if I wish to receive wages for the job I perform... Anyway, call me poor all you like. I actually am.
- ValentineC 7y ago
  > You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too). This should not be an issue as long as the topup is done with a debit card. > Also, from an investment pov I think Apple Pay is going to crush them. Apple Pay doesn't have any "special" features that help with travel and paying in foreign currencies. Interestingly enough, Revolut supports Apple Pay in a couple of countries.

rsync 7y ago

"Features I like, and which are apparently beyond the ability of my regular bank to offer: Virtual and diposible cards." I am interested in using virtual/disposable cards ... Is it, in fact, correct that no "proper" US bank offers these ? What about paypal ? What is the most stable, boring, financial services provider that offers virtual cards ? Does anyone allow me to create a virtual card via API, the same way I can "create" a new phone number with Twilio ?

ValentineC 7y ago
> I am interested in using virtual/disposable cards ... > Is it, in fact, correct that no "proper" US bank offers these ? What about paypal ?* > What is the most stable, boring, financial services provider that offers virtual cards ? Most US-issued bank debit cards work with Privacy.com, I think.

angry_octet 7y ago

You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too). Revolut has been completely useless about this, and their chat teams are just there to waste your time. Multiple currencies and cheap exchange are great when you travel a lot, and virtual credit cards and a nice spending UI are nice to haves. But nothing makes up for being jerked around for hours because their system is broken and they won't fix it. Also, from an investment pov I think Apple Pay is going to crush them.

interfixus 7y ago
>>You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too) I may not. In fact, I have no idea what you mean by 'cash advance'. By HN standards I am pennyless, but wouldn't ever dream of spending or withdrawing money that I haven't got.
- angry_octet 7y ago
  Calm down, I'm not saying you are poor. Banks have started treating top ups as cash advances, even when your account has a positive balance. This has logical sense because you can immediately withdraw that money as cash. For some reason Revolut is unable or unwilling to support normal cash transfer mechanisms.
  - interfixus 7y ago
    Okay, this is news to me. But then, my bank is not a US one. There is no money in my account that I cannot immediately withdraw as cash. That is sort of the whole point of my bank account, except of course it's mandatory if I wish to receive wages for the job I perform... Anyway, call me poor all you like. I actually am.
ValentineC 7y ago
> You may soon discover (depending on your jurisdiction) that topping up is no longer an option, because your actual bank starts treating these transactions as cash advances, 3%-4% fee (and trashing your credit rating too). This should not be an issue as long as the topup is done with a debit card. > Also, from an investment pov I think Apple Pay is going to crush them. Apple Pay doesn't have any "special" features that help with travel and paying in foreign currencies. Interestingly enough, Revolut supports Apple Pay in a couple of countries.