Revolut Foreign Transaction Fees Explained (2026)

Revolut is one of the most popular money apps for travelers and expats. The "no fees" marketing is mostly true — but the details matter. Here's exactly when you pay and when you don't.

Where these figures come from. The plan limits, weekend markup and ATM thresholds below were read from Revolut's own published fee schedule and plan comparison pages, last checked in September 2026. Revolut changes these without notice and they differ by country of registration, so check the fee schedule inside your own app before relying on a number here. Trustpilot: 4.7/5 (474K reviews).

Card FX is separate from sending money, which is what we measure directly. On the Revolut transfers we price, its exchange-rate markup is 0.64% median across the 40 corridors we quote it on, its all-in cost averages 0.85% of the amount sent, and it is cheapest on 2 of the 213 corridors we can compare (how we measure that). If you are moving money to someone else's account rather than spending on card, compare it against Wise and the rest on your actual corridor.

Between Friday 11pm GMT and Sunday 11pm GMT, FX markets are closed. To offer exchange during this window, Revolut adds a markup to protect against rate movement:

Practical tip: If you're traveling and need to convert €500 EUR → USD:

• Tuesday: You get ~$590 (interbank rate)
• Saturday: You get ~$584 (1% markup = $6 lost)

Always convert on Monday-Friday. If you know you'll spend abroad on the weekend, top up your foreign currency balance during the week.

Every Revolut plan has a free FX limit. Exceed it, and you pay 1% "fair usage" fee on the excess:

Example: If you're on Standard and exchange £5,000 in a month:

• First £1,000: free
• Remaining £4,000: 1% fee = £40

If you regularly exchange over £3,000/month, Plus or Premium pays for itself.

Withdrawing £500 at an ATM abroad on Standard = £200 free + £6 fee on the excess. Use card payments instead whenever possible.

Here's a real comparison. Spending £1,000 on a 2-week vacation in Spain (€, weekday):

Verdict: For under £1,000/month of FX and weekday usage, Revolut Standard is genuinely the cheapest option for travelers. Wise is a close second and often cleaner for business use.

1. Convert on weekdays. Never top up foreign currency Friday night to Sunday night. The 1% weekend markup eats your savings.
2. Know your plan's FX limit. Standard = £1,000/month. If you're exchanging more, upgrade to Plus (£3,000 for £3.99/month) — it pays for itself at £400+ of overage.
3. Use card payments, not ATMs. Card spending is unlimited free. ATM withdrawals are capped.
4. Top up in bulk. If you know you're traveling for 2 weeks in Japan, convert £1,000 to JPY on a Wednesday before the trip. Spend from the JPY balance on the card.
5. Check the actual rate. In the app, tap the currency pair and verify the rate matches Google's. If it's more than 0.3% off, you're on weekend pricing.
6. Avoid DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion). If an ATM or card terminal asks "Do you want to pay in GBP or EUR?" — always choose the local currency (EUR). If you choose GBP, the merchant converts at a terrible rate.

Both are excellent, but they're optimized for different use cases:

• Revolut wins for: Travel card spending, multi-currency wallet holding, digital nomads, anyone in Europe
• Wise wins for: Large transfers, transparent mid-market rate (no weekend markup ever), business payments, holding USD with a real US routing number

For a detailed comparison, see our Wise vs Revolut comparison. Or compare with other providers in our best apps for expats guide.

Fee data sourced directly from Revolut's official pricing pages (checked April 2026). Comparison rates from live provider APIs updated every 6 hours. External references: Revolut Fees, FCA regulatory disclosures. Compare live rates from 80+ providers.