Revolut customers can now deposit cash into accounts… but at a cost

Revolut customers will now be able to deposit cash into their accounts at over 12,000 shops and retailers across the UK.

Revolut, which yesterday obtained a banking license in the UK, launched a cash deposit option for its 9 million UK customers, although it is subject to limits and fees.

Customers will be able to deposit cash directly into their Revolut account at participating supermarkets, newsagents and petrol stations, which could include stores like WHSmith, Revolut has confirmed.

This comes after the CrowdStrike service outage halted some card payments last week, and the Financial Conduct Authority introduced new rules to protect access to and use of cash.

Under the new rules, banks and building societies must assess whether local communities lack access to cash services such as branches and ATMs, and provide additional services where they find “significant gaps”.

Around 1.5 million adults used cash as their main spending method last year, according to new data from UK Finance, the first rise since 2019.

According to the report, this can be attributed to the cost of living crisis, as more and more people are turning to cash to budget. Only 900,000 people used coins and notes as their primary spending method in 2022.

Revolut’s cash deposit service will be provided in partnership with global payments platform Paysafe.

Revolut plans to start with 12,000 branches and gradually expand further in the coming months “subject to fees and limits,” the neobank said.

The launch comes as 71 percent of Revolut customers deposited cash at a bank or other financial institution in the last year, as well as 34 percent who wanted a feature to be able to deposit cash monthly.

How much will it cost to deposit cash with Revolut?

Depositing cash with Revolut will incur a charge for anything over the first £100 deposited.

Clients can deposit their first £100 without any fees, but any amount deposited after this will be subject to a 1.5 percent fee.

Cash deposits start from a minimum of £10 and a maximum of £500 per transaction, with a daily limit of £750.

Customers can deposit a total of £2,250 per month in cash, while the annual limit is set at £10,000.

A customer depositing £750 in cash into their Revolut account in this way would pay £11.25 in fees and receive £738.75 back into their account, as fees are taken from the deposited amount.

Most banks do not charge personal current account holders for making cash deposits, while they do charge business account holders for making cash deposits. NatWest, for example, charges business accounts 70p for every £100 deposited and a “manual fee” of 70p for each item deposited.

Andrew Hagger, founder of the MoneyComms website, said: “I am not aware of any bank currently charging personal customers for paying in cash.”

How to deposit cash with Revolut

To deposit cash with Revolut, customers need to open their Revolut app, click on “Add money” on their home screen and change the selected mode to the “Deposit cash” option.

Customers will then need to agree to Paysafe’s terms and conditions, as well as open or allow geolocation sharing to find the nearest partner store that accepts cash deposits.

After entering the amount the customer wishes to add, the app will generate a time-sensitive barcode valid for thirty minutes. This barcode can be scanned at any of the retail partners.

Once the cashier scans the barcode and the customer pays the amount in cash, the customer receives the money in his or her account within ten minutes. The 1.5 percent commission will be deducted from the deposited amount.

Gabor Hava, Head of Basic Payments at Revolut, said: ‘With such high demand for cash deposits among our customers, Revolut is pleased to fulfil another product request from our customers and help those with cash gain access to modern digital financial services.

‘Our cash deposit solution meets real customer needs: by partnering with an industry expert like Paysafe, we can now offer a fast, easy-to-use and compliant service that will enable thousands of people to deposit cash into Revolut from different locations and exchange currencies in-app to make transfers to family and friends in other countries.

‘This launch will provide a higher level of confidence for all those who have not yet considered digital financial services.’