All About Revolut and its Singapore Launch

Singapore is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia,and for this reason, it has been attracting a lot of foreign investment. Thisis one of the main reasons why the country is on Revolut’s radar, through whichit plans to use as a gateway to the European market.

What is Revolut?

Revolut is a UK-based fintech company that has it’s currentlyone of the major disruptors in the banking industry. It was founded in 2015 bytwo investment bankers named Vlad Yatsenko, and Nik Storonsky. The company hasa mobile app through which it offers a variety of banking services. It aims toprovide a suitable and workable alternative to traditional banking servicesthat operate in the physical space. This has earned the company the title of “techsuper star.”

Revolut’s main target audience is tech-savvy users, and itrides on the wave of digital and mobile technology to achieve its goals. Beloware some of the services that it offers.

• Vaults where users can save and manage money.

• Overseas medical insurance and mobile phoneinsurance.

• A digital currency exchange where users canconvert their fiat currency into a variety of cryptocurrencies includingLitecoin, Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum among others.

• Cross-border money transfer in 124 countries.

Revolut wants to makethe world its playground

Revolut currently boasts of more than 4 million users inEurope. Its massive success and the penetration of digital devices in theinternational market has encouraged the company to pursue a global presence.

Countries whereRevolut is available

So far Revolut isavailable in more than two dozen countries. Below are the countries where it isavailable:

Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain,Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Malta,Luxembourg, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Greece,Germany, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Cyprus,Croatia, Bulgaria, Belgium and Austria.

The company is determined to make its services available ona global scale so that more people can enjoy its services.

Revolut review

• Payments –Revolut makes payments on its platform as easy as payments usingtraditional payment platforms such as PayPal. It even allows users to sendmoney to other people even if they do not know the phone number. However, ithas the option of sending to people by tapping on their phone numbers.

One of the most interesting features on theapp is that it allows bill splitting by sending requests to the person withwhom the user wants to split a bill. Users can also receive money from peoplewho do not use the app. The app allows the user to send a payment requestthrough a link which non-users can use to enter their bank card details,therefore allowing the payment to be made.

• Security–Revolut uses a high level of security for its platform and even lets userscontrol their security. For example, users have the option of freezing andunfreezing their Revolut card through their Resolut app if the card is stolenor lost. They can also turn off contactless payment, online payment, and evenATM use through the app if they wish to do so.

As far as the security of funds, Revoluthas teamed up with Tier 1 banks which act as the custodian for the finances.The finances are held in ring-fenced accounts that are then linked to theRevolut app.

• Customersupport- Revolut offers impressive customer support. The support team canbe reached via the customer support chat section on the mobile app or the webversion of the platform.

The pros of theRevolut platform

• Customers are provided with a physical card.

• The appfeatures a user-friendly interface.

• 24-hour customer care services.

• It allows the purchase of cryptocurrencies.

• It helps travelers to avoid hefty exchangerates.

• It allows the user to hold up to 24 currencies.

The cons of theRevolut service

• It does not have any physical bank brancheswhere one can go to have an issue sorted out.

• It allows free cash withdrawals but has a £200monthly limit.

• Currency exchange attracts higher fees at 0.5%for amounts higher than £5000.

• The platform charges a higher fee at 0.5% and a currencyexchange rate at 1% during the weekends and when the markets are closed.

Revolut’s launch inSingapore

Revolut announced a while back that it was eyeing Singaporeas the next country where it plans to roll out its services. This is anexcellent opportunity for the city-state the fintech company because Revolutwill also provide job opportunities as well as tech talent to the country.

Revolut released a statement about its Singapore plansstating that the country is an ideal next step because it is technologicallyadvanced. It also has a regulatory framework that is fintech-friendly and ahighly skilled workforce.

The fintech company also revealed that it plans to work withSingapore’s education bodies to facilitate staff training so that they can meetthe company’s global needs. Revolut also pointed out that its services areheavily reliant on disciplines such as data science, machine learning,artificial intelligence and user interface design.

Revolut has employed Eddie Lee, a former Uber Eatsexecutive, to be at the helm of its Asia Pacific office in Singapore. Lee’srole will be to lead the company’s expansion plans in the Asia Pacific region.This also means that the company will launch its services in other neighboringcountries shortly. Lee was the head of Uber Eats’ strategy team for the AsiaPacific region, and so he has the skills necessary for his new role at Revolut.

The Singapore launch will feature beta versions of thecompany’s credit card. Revolut’s rollout in the country has been delayed due tomeasures to fine-tune its products to suit the Singapore market. Meanwhile, thelaunch will be a big one for the company not only because Singapore will be itsgateway into the greater Asia Pacific region but also because it highlights thelaunch of its global expansion efforts.

(By Neha Gupta)

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