Revolut in New Zealand: Yes, It’s Here!

Revolut has been around for over 7 years, and only in July 2023, it has finally arrived in New Zealand. With over 26,000 customers on the waiting list, New Zealanders are excited. However, Wise is a main competitor of Revolut and has already gained popularity among Kiwis. Let’s see what Revolut has to offer and how it compares to Wise card.

Revolut offers banking solutions for customers in over 50 countries worldwide. They provide free multicurrency bank accounts, debit cards, free money transfers, and excellent deals on foreign exchange rates. NZ customers can bank hold up to five currencies and spend money in over 200 countries.

Read our guide on a Wise card so you can compare.

Is Revolut available in New Zealand?

In July 2023, Revolut launched its bank accounts and other financial products in New Zealand. Revolut is a UK company founded in 2015. I first opened their account back in 2018. It was the only bank I have ever used since then and until 2023.

Revolut is an international banking product with over 30 million global users and is available in 50 countries. Most customers use Revolut as a digital wallet in addition to their bank and other finance apps. You can hold their funds in one of five currencies, NZD, AUD, GBP, EUR, and USD, and use a digital or physical payment card in 200 countries.

The beauty of Revolut is that you pay zero foreign transaction fees, and their exchange rates are the best on the market.

At the end of 2021, Revolut had more than 16 million customers, representing a 46% increase compared to 2020.

As with many start-ups, they often operate at costs while growing rapidly. Revolut, however, was fully profitable in 2021. This can add reinsurance and security for customers.

Before it was launched in New Zealand, Revolut had signed more than 26,000 customers to their waiting list. That’s pretty significant for a small country. In New Zealand, they offer users an attractive free account with a $350 free withdrawal limit.

Most NZ customers plan on using Revolut to travel and budget personal spending. And I couldn’t agree more, Revolut is the best when it comes to paying with your card overseas.

The financial services sector in New Zealand is generally traditional and dominated by high-street banks like BNZ or ANZ. Most of them charge high fees on foreign currency transactions or cash withdrawals. It can be as high as 2-4%. Revolut is here to compete and probably to win, as most of their services are free.

Revolut’s market research has also shown that 40% of Kiwi consumers don’t trust traditional banks, and 98% of NZ residents are looking for a money management tool that gives them visibility and control over their finances. Revolut does an excellent job in this.

In Australia, over 335,000 people already use Revolut and are pretty happy with it.

Also read: Best bank accounts for students in New Zealand.

Revolut account and fees

Revolut‘s global account is free, allowing users to pay, transfer, and withdraw money at no or low cost. This includes very low-cost foreign exchange, international money transfers, and up to NZ$350 in free ATM withdrawals per month. Keep in mind that the foreign currency exchange rate might be different on weekends (a 1% fee applies).

Revolut’s mobile app is a foreign exchange platform in itself where you can hold 5 currencies (NZD, AUD, GBP, EUR, USD) and interexchange them as you like. Revolut allows customers to spend and transfer money with fees below any bank or legacy FX provider.

While in other countries, customers have access to a wider range of Revolut products, e.g.:

• Business account
• Crypto trading
• Share trading
• Airport lounges
• Insurances
• Savings
• Joint accounts

In New Zealand, we only get a personal free account (with multiple currencies) and a debit card. However, there is hope that more products will come in the future!

Here are the main features and benefits you get with a Revolut card and bank account: 

• Free multicurrency, international bank account 
• Debit card – Visa or Mastercard
• Free international transfers 24/7 
• Free multicurrency payments (up to NZ$2,000)
• Lower currency conversion fees  – 0.50% after free NZ$2,000
• Mid-market exchange rate
• Free withdrawals worldwide (usually up to US$200 abroad or NZ$350 in NZ)
• Up to five free withdrawals per month
• Easy instant top-up
• Instant transfers/payments
• Super user-friendly mobile banking (NZ banks are terrible)
• Customer support via chat 24/7

Fees and limits

Here are all fees you can expect with Revolut:

Cash withdrawals	NZ$350/month free, 2% after
Foreign currency conversion	NZ$2,000/month free, 0.50% after
Transactions during the weekend	1% markup

You can open an account with Revolut entirely online by using your ID and proof of address. When ordering your card for the first time, you pay NZ$9.99, including the delivery fee.

You can see more about the fee structure of Revolut on the official NZ page.

Pros and cons of Revolut

What is Revolut great for? Typically customers use Revolut for one of the following reasons:

• Traveling overseas – Revolut is a great option for paying in foreign currencies and withdrawing money abroad. If you spend less than NZ$2,000 within one month, you don’t pay any fees. After this limit, a small charge of 0.5% applies, which is still significantly lower than with any NZ bank.
• Online shopping – if you shop online frequently including outside of NZ, you will have payments in different than NZ$ currencies. Here Revolut comes in handy, offering the best foreign exchange rates.
• Overseas experience – Many Kiwis head overseas for a year or even longer. It would be a bad idea to move abroad with your NZ bank account. Moreover, opening a local account in a new country means jumping over many hurdles. Banks have strict requirements and long processes for foreigners looking for a bank account.

That said, you can also use Revolut within NZ, it won’t incur any additional fees and charges making it overall a great product even for domestic use.

Cons of Revolut

• No interest – The main disadvantage of using Revolut vs traditional NZ banks is that they don’t offer loans or interest-earning products.
• No overdraft – In New Zealand, Revolut doesn’t offer a credit line or overdraft.
• No bank – Besides, officially, Revolut isn’t a bank in New Zealand, hence, customer funds are not protected by either government’s deposit guarantee scheme. 
• Weekend charge – If you spend money during the weekend (London time), expect to pay an additional 1% on foreign currency payments.

How to use Revolut card in New Zealand

Using a Revolut card in New Zealand is very straightforward. You can pay at the counter anywhere with a card payment option. There is no difference between paying with EFTPOS vs Revolut card, yet some terminals might charge a small fee on international cards.

When you pay in NZ$ in New Zealand with another currency, Revolut will automatically exchange your funds at the best market rate without adding a fee on top. If you pay online, the process is very similar.

Best Bank Accounts in New Zealand for International Students in 2024

Revolut vs Wise

Revolut and Wise are arguably the two best bank accounts and travel cards if you hold different currencies, send transfers overseas, or travel abroad.

I have been a customer of both Wise and Revolut, and they have their pros and cons. Moreover, Wise offers affordable international transfers, which Revolut doesn’t.

Read my guide on Wise in New Zealand.

Revolut and Wise are very similar. The main difference is that Revolut offers a NZ$2,000 fee-free foreign currency exchange per month, while Wise doesn’t have limits. Yet, each time you pay with Wise, it will charge you 0,4%-0,5% in fees (when you spend in foreign currency).

Revolut, on the other hand, charges customers an additional 1% in the exchange rate when paying during the weekend.

Both companies offer fast money transfers, where Wise will send money immediately if the recipient has a Wise account and 1-2 days if they don’t. With Revolut, the transfer can be instant (depending on the country of the recipient) or within 1-2 days and up to 5 days for international money transfers.

Wise

Wise is a primary competitor of Revolut and mainly focuses on money transfers vs bank accounts. Here is shortly about Wise if you are new to it:

• Wise was founded in 2011 in London, hence, both companies are UK start-ups.
• Wise was started as an international money transfer company and later introduced other products, such as bank accounts and debit cards. Today Wise has over 16 million vs 30 million that Revolut has.
• Wise card (Mastercard or Visa) is connected to your multicurrency account, so you can store and spend across over 40 currencies. With a Wise debit card, you can pay at the counter or online, everywhere where cards are accepted.
• You can withdraw up to NZ$350 per month for free.
• The Wise card is currently available in the UK, the US, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and most of the EEA.
• Wise card is great if you travel often, shop online and internationally, or live abroad and don’t have a local bank account. Wise always uses the real mid-market exchange rate, which means no markups and no hidden fees. This is where you will spend a lot of money with traditional banks, like ANZ.

When I first moved to New Zealand, I was using Wise card regularly, yet it involved paying 0,5% in fees each time when spending money because my savings are in US$. It would be different if I earned NZ$, then no fees occur.

I also use Wise for money transfers within NZ and abroad. Wise charges 0,5% on all transfers made in foreign currency. Hence, it costs me 0,5% of the total sum to send US$.

Here is a short overview of Wise multicurrency account and debit card in New Zealand:

• No hidden fees: no annual account fees, no additional markups on foreign currency exchanges.
• Transparent and low fees.
• Free ATM withdrawals for up to NZ$350 per month
• Receive your salary, pension, tax benefits, etc.
• Pay at the counter and online with a Wise card
• Get bank account details for several currencies e.g. US bank account in US$
• Hold up to 40 currencies and spend this money in any country and in any currency
• Transfer funds to other people or businesses just by knowing their email address. You can also send them money directly to their bank account via Wise if you don’t know their bank details.
• Issue up to 3 virtual cards for temporary usage
• Acceptance worldwide

Wise requirements

To get a Wise card, you need:

• Confirm your NZ address
• Provide an official ID

After Wise has verified your account and the ID that you provided, you can order the card. The delivery fee is NZ$14, which includes the card too.

That said, both Revolut and Wise are far superior to what traditional NZ banks have to offer, especially when talking about foreign currency exchange rates and international transfers.

Feature	Revolut	Wise
Send money	43 including NZD, AUD, EUR, GBP and USD	None but a fee of 0,5% applies on all transfers in foreign currencies
Store currencies	NZD, AUD, GBP, EUR, USD	20 currencies
Local bank account number	5 currencies	11 currencies
Paying in different currencies fee	NZ$2,000 free after that 0.50%	0,47 – 0,50% always
Exchange rates	Mid-market rate, but +1% during the weekend	Mid-market rate
Free ATM withdrawals	Up to NZ$350 per month (start/end dates can be found in the app), 2% after that, +1% on weekends and holidays 5 free withdrawals per calendar month	Up to NZ$350 per month, 1,75% after that 2 free withdrawals per calendar month
ATM withdrawals fee above the limit	2% + $0 fixed fee	1.75% + NZ$1.50 fixed fee per withdrawal
Transfers in different currencies	Free up to NZ$2,000	Fee of 0,5%; You will see the fee breakdown before sending.
Sending limits	None but a fee of 0,5% applies on all transfers in foreign currencies	None but fee of 0,5% applies on all transfers in foreign currencies
Pros	Great for travel abroad; spend up to NZ$2,000/month for free. Cheaper.	Cheaper for spending on a weekend. Transparency over fees when sending money.
Cons	The support is provided only online No deposit cash from an ATM No credit line, funds must be available on the account	The support is provided only online No deposit cash from an ATM No credit line, funds must be available on the account

Sign up for Wise here.

Using Wise Card in New Zealand: [2024 Guide]