Revolut moves into credit cards in Irish market

Revolut says it is starting to issue credit cards for customers in Ireland.

The challenger bank, which claims to have more than two million customers in the State, says the card will carry an initial interest-free period as well as a cash-back feature. It said the new credit card was designed “with a focus on transparency, control, responsibility, and rewards”.

Customers can apply for the credit card by clicking on “credit card” in their account hub when it becomes available to them. The fintech says the application process is straightforward with “an immediate approval process for those eligible”.

APR of 17.99%

The cards will offer credit limits of between €500 and €10,000, the fintech said, with the individual limit decided by Revolut’s credit assessment, determined by checking the customer’s existing bank accounts through open banking with customer consent.

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Revolut said the cards will offer special introductory rates of 0 per cent on purchases and balance transfers from other cards for a period of three months. After that, customers will pay an APR of 17.99 per cent on balances relating to purchases, and 19.99 per cent on cash withdrawals through the card.

Credit card customers will also get 1 per cent cash-back on purchases made through the card for the first three months. After that it falls to 0.1 per cent though customers of Revolut’s Metal account will get enhanced cash-back arrangements.

In a statement, Revolut said no over-limit fees and no returned payment fees would be applied to customer accounts.

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Customers will be able to apply limits to the card accounts, limiting how much they can spend on the credit card over certain periods to help ensure they don’t overextend themselves financially.

Revolut said it will roll the card out to customers over the next few weeks, starting on Monday. “We’re doing groups of customers at a time,” a spokesman said. Users will know they can apply when they see the credit card icon in their Revolut hub.

Virtual option

“The rollout will commence slowly so that we can maintain good logistics and customers can get a card quickly when they apply for one,” the spokesman said. “The physical card will arrive in several days once the customer is eligible and approved for one. But the virtual one can be used whilst waiting.”

“We’re delighted to add Revolut credit cards to our financial superapp, giving our customers in Ireland more control and flexibility over their personal finances in a responsible way,” said Joe Heneghan, chief executive of Revolut Europe. “We’ve developed the technology to provide credit cards to approved customers with limits tailored to affordability, so they can get the credit they need, when they need it.”

The fintech announced plans recently to issue local Irish Ibans after customers reported problems getting utilities and others to accept the Lithuanian Ibans that were allocated to their accounts.