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Platform-based businesses thrive on strong partners—see how mass payments tech streamlines operations, reduces risk, and boosts partner retention.
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Digital companies that rely on platform-based models know how important their partners are. See how mass payments technology can improve operations and cut down on risks, all while helping you attract and keep those key partners.
As a UK business grows, so does its ambition to trade globally. However, the mechanics of cross-border payments have become a critical operational focus when trading internationally.
According to the Bank of England, the value of these international payments is forecast to grow to over $250 trillion by 2027, a clear sign of our interconnected global economy.
Revolut and Wise are excellent low-cost tools for everyday banking and small-scale international transfers—but as payment volumes grow, their manual processes and limited integrations can quickly become a bottleneck.
This is the point where a business needs to graduate from a simple money app to a dedicated global payables automation platform. Our guide compares Revolut vs. Wise and introduces Tipalti not as a direct like-for-like comparison, but as distinct solutions for different stages of business growth.
We will help you understand their core functions and identify when it’s time to make the switch to a more scalable platform like Tipalti.
Key Takeaways
- Different tools for different stages: Revolut is a comprehensive digital banking app with numerous features, making it a versatile option for startups. Wise focuses on providing cheap, transparent international money transfer services. Tipalti is a specialised platform for automating high-volume, global payouts at scale.
- Know the regulatory differences: In the UK, both Revolut and Wise are authorised Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), not banks. This means funds in a standard (personal and business) Revolut or Wise account are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) like bank accounts.
- Controversies matter for due diligence: In particular, Revolut has faced public scrutiny in the UK. The firm has been criticised over its financial reporting and high volume of customer support complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Scalability requires automation: Automation is the crucial difference for a growing business. While you can use Wise or Revolut for manual payments, only a dedicated platform like Tipalti automates the entire payout lifecycle, from payee onboarding and tax compliance to payment and reconciliation.
Why Businesses Look for Revolut and Wise Alternatives
While both platforms offer compelling features for small-scale operations, businesses often seek alternatives as they encounter challenges that simpler tools are not designed to solve:
- Limited scalability: Managing hundreds or thousands of payments to freelancers, creators, or global partners can become overwhelming. Manual processes on these platforms do not scale effectively.
- Lack of automation and integration: Neither platform offers deep automation for the entire payout lifecycle. Businesses that need to integrate payment systems with their existing tech stack via a robust API quickly find these solutions lacking.
- Basic compliance features: Onboarding global payees involves complex tax and regulatory requirements. Revolut and Wise do not assist with compliance in a systematic manner, while other options may offer built-in tools for tax form collection and validation.
- Fragmented payee management: The payee onboarding and communication experience is not customisable or brandable, which can lead to friction and a high volume of queries for your finance team.
Revolut Business vs Wise Business vs Tipalti: A Comparison for UK Businesses
Here is a direct comparison of how the three platforms stack up for UK businesses managing regular payouts.
| Feature | Revolut Business | Wise Business | Tipalti (Mass Payments) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Startups needing a versatile digital banking account. | Small businesses making low-cost international transfers. | Businesses automating high-volume global payouts. |
| Global Payouts | 200+ countries, fees outside plan allowances. | 160+ countries, low transparent fees. | 200+ countries, 120+ currencies, 50+ methods. |
| Physical Debit Card | Yes (including metal and virtual cards). | Yes. | Coming soon–current focus is on mass payout automation. |
| API & Integration | Basic app connections, limited automation. | API for payments and workflows. | Full API for entire payout lifecycle. |
| Payee Management | Manual payee setup. | Manual payee setup. | Branded self-service portal for payees. |
| Tax Compliance | No built-in tax tools. | No built-in tax tools. | VAT number validation and US-tax forms (W-8/W-9) |
| Customer Support | Primarily in-app chat. | Email and phone support available. | Dedicated UK support team. |
| Regulatory Status (UK) | EMI, not bank. Not FSCS protected. | EMI, not bank. Not FSCS protected. | EMI with FCA e-money licence. |
Revolut Business
Revolut is a London-based fintech company offering a wide range of services. Founded in 2015, it operates as an authorised Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in the UK under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), not as a bank.
For businesses, it offers a feature-rich, app-based account that enables holding multiple currencies, issuing virtual and physical debit cards, and managing day-to-day expenses. It also offers perks like cashback on card payments and, on higher-tier plans, benefits such as airport lounge access. However, it is not primarily a mass payout platform.
Security, Regulation, and Reputation
In the UK, money held in a standard Revolut Business e-money account is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Instead, funds are safeguarded by being held in separate accounts at partner banks. This is a key distinction from a traditional high-street bank.
While a prominent and fast-growing firm, businesses performing due diligence should also be aware of the public scrutiny Revolut has faced. Data from the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has repeatedly shown that Revolut receives one of the highest volumes of customer cases among financial firms, particularly in relation to fraud and scams. In 2023, the FOS received more fraud-related complaints about Revolut than any other provider.
The company’s financial reporting has also drawn attention. In March 2023, its auditor, BDO, issued a qualified opinion on Revolut’s 2021 annual accounts. The auditor noted it was unable to fully verify the “completeness or occurrence” of £477 million of its reported revenue due to the design of Revolut’s internal IT systems, warning that some information may be “materially misstated”. Revolut stated at the time that its overall revenue figure was not in question and that the issues raised had since been remedied.
Pricing (UK)
Revolut offers tiered subscription plans with monthly fees. The free plan is very limited. As of September 2025, paid business plans include:
- Basic: From £10/month.
- Grow: From £30/month.
- Scale: From £90/month.
- Enterprise: Custom.
Each plan comes with a set allowance of free transfers. Once the allowance is used, transfer fees apply (e.g., £5 per international SWIFT transfer). Foreign exchange (FX) is typically charged at the interbank rate during the week, but FX fees apply outside the plan allowance, and a markup is added on weekends.
Wise Business (formerly TransferWise)
Wise, launched in 2011 and also headquartered in the UK, focuses on making international currency transfers cheap, transparent, and simple. Its core value proposition is using the mid-market exchange rate with a clear, upfront fee, which can be significantly more cost-effective than traditional banks for sending amounts of money abroad. It supports payments to over 160 countries.
Like Revolut, it’s a powerful tool for businesses that need to make occasional international payments—and its multi-currency account is excellent for holding foreign currencies—but it lacks the end-to-end automation needed for managing mass payouts at scale. The Wise card allows spending globally and supports Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Security and Regulation
Similar to Revolut, Wise is an authorised EMI regulated by the FCA, not a bank. Therefore, its standard business accounts are not covered by the FSCS. Wise protects funds through safeguarding, keeping customer money separate from its own business funds in cash and secure liquid assets.
For transparency, it is worth noting that Wise’s CEO was fined by HMRC regarding a historic personal tax matter. The matter, which did not involve Wise’s own funds or taxes, automatically triggered a regulatory review by the FCA. The FCA investigation closed in 2023 with no enforcement action taken.
Pricing (UK)
Wise Business charges a one-time setup fee of £45 to get full account details. There are no monthly subscription fees. Instead, you pay per transaction:
- Sending Money: A small fixed fee plus a variable fee (which can be below ~0.2% if large volumes are being sent in liquid currency paris. Ultimately, the fee depends on the currency pair and transaction size.
- Receiving Money: Free to receive payments in major currencies like GBP, EUR, and USD (non-wire). Receiving a USD wire payment incurs a fixed fee.
Scale beyond Revolut and Wise
For UK businesses managing hundreds of international payments, Tipalti automates the entire payout lifecycle—from payee onboarding to global compliance and reconciliation—so you can grow faster without growing your headcount.
How to Choose the Right Payment Platform
When choosing between Revolut, Wise, and a platform like Tipalti, consider your business’s current stage and future growth:
- Payment volume: Are you making a few payments a month or hundreds? For low volumes, Wise or Revolut may suffice. For high volumes, the manual workload becomes unsustainable, making automation essential.
- Global reach: Do you pay partners in a few countries or all over the world? A true global payout solution offers more currencies and payment methods (like local bank transfers, BACS, and PayPal) and manages the complexity for you.
- Compliance needs: How much risk are you willing to take on for tax and regulatory compliance? If you pay partners globally, an automated solution that manages this is critical.
- Payee experience: How important is it to provide a professional, branded, and self-service experience to your payees? A dedicated platform improves partner satisfaction and reduces administrative queries.
Tipalti: The Scalable Alternative for Global Payouts
While Revolut and Wise are effective for simpler payment needs, UK businesses facing high-volume, global payouts require a more robust solution. Tipalti is a mass payments automation platform designed specifically for this purpose, automating the entire payout process from payee onboarding to payments and reconciliation.
It’s the ideal alternative for growing creator platforms, ad tech companies, marketplaces, and online services that have outgrown the manual processes associated with Revolut and Wise.
Tipalti’s key differentiators for mass payments are built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security and compliance:
- End-to-end global payout automation: Tipalti handles the entire workflow, from a white-labelled, self-service payee onboarding portal to tax compliance checks, payments across 200+ countries, and real-time payment reconciliation.
- Built-in global compliance: The platform automates the collection and validation of UK and international tax forms (like W-8/W-9 and VAT IDs) and screens every payment against global blacklists, significantly reducing compliance risk.
- Seamless API integration: Tipalti’s powerful API and iFrame allow you to embed the entire payment infrastructure into your own platform, creating a seamless experience for your global partners and payees.
- Reduced payment errors and fraud risk: With over 26,000 global payment rules, Tipalti validates payee information upfront, significantly reducing payment errors and helping prevent fraudulent transactions.
- Finance AI Assistant and Agents: Tipalti’s AI-powered finance assistant and specialised agents help teams manage payables more intelligently—automating routine inquiries, surfacing insights, and accelerating issue resolution across the entire payout process.
Conclusion: Choosing a Platform That Grows With You
For UK-based freelancers and small businesses, both Revolut and Wise offer excellent value for managing everyday finances and making occasional international transfers. Wise stands out for its transparency and low currency exchange fees, while Revolut provides a broader suite of banking-like features.
However, for ambitious businesses that are scaling globally, these tools are just a starting point. The operational burden of managing high-volume payouts, ensuring global tax compliance, and providing a seamless payee experience requires a dedicated solution.
Tipalti bridges this gap by automating the entire mass payments process, enabling you to grow your business without growing your headcount. By taking care of the complex payment infrastructure, Tipalti frees up your finance team to focus on strategic growth.
Join 4,000+ Leading Businesses Automating Global Payouts
While Revolut and Wise help you get started, Tipalti takes you further—automating every stage of payments, from onboarding to compliance and reconciliation, so your team spends less time on admin and more on growth.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the best Wise or Revolut alternative for a growing UK business?
For growing UK businesses that need to manage high-volume global payouts, a dedicated mass payments platform like Tipalti is often the best alternative. While Wise and Revolut are good for simple transfers, Tipalti automates the entire process, including payee onboarding, tax compliance, and reconciliation, which is crucial for scalability.
Is my money safer in Wise or Revolut?
Both Wise and Revolut are regulated by the FCA in the UK as Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), not banks. Neither offers FSCS protection on their standard e-money accounts. They protect customer funds through ‘safeguarding,’ which means keeping client money separate from their operational funds. Both are considered safe for their intended use, but they do not have the same protections as a fully licensed UK bank.
Which is cheaper for international payments, Revolut or Wise?
It depends on the transfer. Wise is often cheaper for international payments because it consistently uses the mid-market exchange rate with a small, transparent fee. Revolut offers a limited amount of fee-free foreign exchange on its paid plans, but charges markups beyond that allowance and on weekends.
