Top 5 Revolut alternatives in the US: compare fees, features & benefits

If you run a growing business, you’ll need a payment platform that allows you to open local accounts in several currencies, seamlessly accept payments from international customers, and send money across borders without excessive fees.

While Revolut is one option to consider, exploring other alternatives can help you find the solution best suited to your growth goals and financial needs.

What is Revolut?

Established in 2015, Revolut is a UK-based financial technology company that offers digital financial services to consumers and businesses. It has roughly 50 million customers with personal and business accounts.

Revolut can be a handy option for freelancers, gig workers, and micro businesses for domestic payments, simple foreign exchange, and global payment needs. Its budget pricing plans and debit cards make it affordable for sole traders who must invoice international clients.

However, Revolut may be less equipped to meet larger, high-growth companies' more sophisticated cross-border financial needs. Revolut charges monthly account fees for some plan allowances and transaction fees once plan allowances are exceeded.

The top alternatives to Revolut 

Exploring options beyond Revolut? Here are five notable alternatives and what makes each competitive: 

• Airwallex: Founded in 2015, Airwallex is a global financial platform that enables businesses to collect, hold, convert, and send multi-currency payments. It also provides embedded finance tools that allow platforms to integrate financial services directly, facilitating in-app payments, smooth checkout experiences, and streamlined FX management.

• PayPal: Operating for more than 20 years, PayPal serves as a versatile payment gateway for eCommerce brands. It supports its own branded PayPal wallet, credit and debit card payments, and bank transfers and offers broad consumer reach. While primarily a payment processor, PayPal offers integration options but does not focus on embedded finance features. 

• Payoneer: Payoneer is a payment platform that enables businesses to collect, hold, and pay out funds in multiple currencies. It also offers prepaid debit cards and integrates with popular marketplaces. While Payoneer offers a range of payment options, its capability to accept card payments is more limited than other providers.

• Wise: Established in 2011, Wise offers multi-currency accounts that allow users to hold, convert, and send payments internationally. Its embedded finance capabilities include API access and multiple onboarding options – host redirect, embedded, and Accounts API – providing flexible integration for businesses. While Wise's services are primarily designed for individual consumers, companies can utilize its platform. However, B2B transactions may encounter additional steps or fees, and some features may be more consumer-oriented.

• Stripe: The Stripe platform offers a full suite of online payment solutions, including a POS system for in-person payments and an eCommerce payment gateway. Through Stripe Connect, it also provides embedded finance capabilities, such as customizable onboarding, payments, and monetization tools, making it a popular choice for platforms and marketplaces looking to offer payments as a product to their own customers.

What questions should I ask when choosing alternative providers to Revolut?

Here are the top 10 most important questions to consider when choosing an alternative to Revolut. Use these as a handy guide when doing your research.

1. What is your fee structure?

2. Are there any additional costs for large transactions?

3. What are the charges for international transactions and currency conversions?

4. What level of payment volumes do you support?

5. What is the transaction processing speed, particularly for large and international transfers?

6. Can you facilitate automated payments?

7. What security measures do you have in place to protect sensitive financial data?

8. What accounting software integrations do you offer?

9. Do you provide dedicated account management support?

10. Do you offer corporate and employee cards? 

Compare the top 5 alternatives to Revolut in the US

Why choose Airwallex over Revolut?

*Revolut provides a single IBAN for all currencies, which can simplify account management but lacks local bank details, potentially leading to higher fees and challenges with localized transactions.

**Outside plan allowance (also charge an additional 1% for exchanges outside market hours)

Final thoughts on alternatives to Revolut

While both Airwallex and Revolut offer global payment services and multi-currency business accounts at competitive rates, there’s a clear distinction between the kinds of businesses each platform best suits.

Revolut offers a good option for solopreneurs, startups moving some money abroad, and those dealing in crypto and stock investments. Its single IBAN system simplifies account management by consolidating multiple currencies under one account, but it does not provide local bank details for each currency. This means businesses may face higher fees for currency conversions and limitations when transacting with partners or customers who require local account information.

For scaling companies expanding into new markets and targeting worldwide customers, Airwallex stands out with its multi-currency business account, which includes support for local bank details in 23+ currencies. Combined with competitive FX rates and 0% domestic and international transaction fees when using local payment rails, Airwallex is designed to address complex multi-currency transaction needs.

Airwallex also provides advanced financial tools like multiple accounting software integrations and expense management capabilities, enabling small and large organizations to streamline their financial operations. Whether holding balances globally, moving money instantly, or offering real-time financial oversight, Airwallex equips your business with the features needed for sustainable global growth.

Sources & references

1. https://stripe.com/payments/payment-methods 

2. https://stripe.com/pricing 

3. https://www.payoneer.com/local-receiving-accounts/ 

4. https://www.payoneer.com/about/pricing/#pay-your-supplier  

5. https://www.paypal.com/enterprise/payment-methods 

6. https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/merchant-fees 

7. https://wise.com/business/receive-money 

8. https://www.revolut.com/business/multi-currency-accounts/ 

9. https://help.revolut.com/business/help/receiving-payments/transfers-info/international-iban 

10. https://www.revolut.com/business/business-account-plans/

Disclaimer: We wrote this article in Q1 2025. The information was based on our own online research and we were not able to manually test each tool or provider. The information is provided for educational purposes only and a reader should consider the specific requirements of their business when evaluating providers. If you would like to request an update, feel free to contact us at [email protected].