Multicurrency accounts / United Kingdom
Spending in a currency is not holding that currency.
Wise documents broad personal and business holding as safeguarded e-money. Revolut documents a UK business bank account with supported currency subaccounts. Starling documents a direct but EUR-only secondary personal bank account. Monzo converts supported foreign receipts, sends and card transactions through a GBP account without evidencing persistent foreign balances. Start with the exact job, then identify the product and protection state.
Direct answer
Choose a balance model before counting currencies.
Wise provides the broadest evidenced personal holding in this set, but ordinary funds are safeguarded e-money rather than bank deposits. Revolut's cited business account combines a GBP bank current account with supported currency subaccounts. Starling offers a narrower, genuine EUR bank deposit for eligible existing personal customers. Monzo is useful when GBP banking plus transaction-time conversion is enough, but its supported foreign sending, receipt and card features do not establish a multicurrency holding account.
Read the UK market guideBrowse the multicurrency directoryRead the Wise reviewRead the Revolut reviewClassification first
A bank account, e-money balance and investment are three different states.
The provider brand does not determine the legal holder or protection for every product.
Direct bank deposit
Starling's eligible GBP and EUR balances are deposits at Starling Bank Limited. Revolut's cited business current account and currency subaccounts are provided by Revolut Bank UK Ltd. FSCS eligibility follows the authorised firm, depositor, product and aggregate—not the number of currencies or screens.
Safeguarded e-money
Wise Payments Limited is an electronic-money institution, not a bank. Ordinary customer funds use safeguarding rather than FSCS deposit protection. Safeguarding separates relevant funds under payment rules but must not be described as identical to a protected bank deposit.
Transaction conversion
Monzo can convert a supported incoming payment to GBP, convert GBP for an international send or let the card network conversion flow apply. Those actions move value through a currency; they do not create a persistent foreign-currency balance or local account detail.
Separate investment state
Optional Wise Assets invests eligible money through a separate product and entity. Its capital risk, eligibility and possible compensation treatment must not be merged with the ordinary Wise account's safeguarding language or presented as a bank savings deposit.
Verified UK multicurrency comparison
Change the job, not the evidence.
These controls only reorder approved market records. Legal entity, product class, protection wording, source date and confidence stay fixed.
Personal holding: Prioritises evidenced personal balances before business-only or conversion-only functions.
| Provider | Product type | Market status | Legal entity | Protection model | Evidence | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WiseBroad personal or business holding, conversion and supported receiving details. | uk electronic money institution personal and business multicurrency account | conditional holding receiving conversion transfer and card functions | Wise Payments Limited | Ordinary funds are safeguarded by Wise Payments Limited rather than protected as bank deposits by FSCS; Wise Assets uses a separate entity, investment and risk model.Holding, receiving details, card spending, conversion, transfers and investment activation remain separate capabilities. | 6 source records | |
| Starling BankExisting eligible Starling personal customers who need a direct EUR bank deposit. | uk bank gbp current account with secondary personal euro deposit account | conditional eur only secondary account with sepa conversion and card controls | Starling Bank Limited | Eligible GBP and EUR deposits are held by Starling Bank Limited and aggregate across the authorised firm under current FSCS rules.The euro account is EUR only, requires the GBP personal account and does not establish broader multicurrency holding. | 3 source records | |
| MonzoGBP banking with conditional international receipt, sending and card conversion. | uk bank gbp account with foreign currency conversion only | foreign receipt send and card conversion without evidenced currency holding | Monzo Bank Limited | Eligible GBP deposits are direct Monzo Bank Limited deposits under FSCS rules; a converted receipt does not become a separately protected foreign-currency balance.A supported sending currency or card transaction proves conversion, not holding or a local foreign account detail. | 5 source records | |
| RevolutUK businesses needing a bank current account with supported currency subaccounts. | uk bank business current account with supported currency subaccounts | business bank account with plan currency payment and exchange conditions | Revolut Bank UK Ltd | Eligible deposits with Revolut Bank UK Ltd can receive FSCS protection subject to product eligibility and aggregation; e-money still in transition and separate products do not inherit that state.Customer migration, entity eligibility, plan, currency, payment, exchange and separate-product terms remain conditional. | 4 source records |
Wise
uk electronic money institution personal and business multicurrency account- Market status
- conditional holding receiving conversion transfer and card functions
- Legal entity
- Wise Payments Limited
- Product note
- Wise documents personal and business holding across more than 40 supported currencies, with receiving details for a narrower set. Ordinary balances are safeguarded e-money; optional Wise Assets is a separate investment state.
- Protection model
- Ordinary funds are safeguarded by Wise Payments Limited rather than protected as bank deposits by FSCS; Wise Assets uses a separate entity, investment and risk model.Holding, receiving details, card spending, conversion, transfers and investment activation remain separate capabilities.
View legal and product sources
Starling Bank
uk bank gbp current account with secondary personal euro deposit account- Market status
- conditional eur only secondary account with sepa conversion and card controls
- Legal entity
- Starling Bank Limited
- Product note
- Eligible personal current-account customers can apply for a secondary euro current account with a unique IBAN, EUR holding, supported SEPA payments, conversion and conditional card-currency controls.
- Protection model
- Eligible GBP and EUR deposits are held by Starling Bank Limited and aggregate across the authorised firm under current FSCS rules.The euro account is EUR only, requires the GBP personal account and does not establish broader multicurrency holding.
View legal and product sources
Monzo
uk bank gbp account with foreign currency conversion only- Market status
- foreign receipt send and card conversion without evidenced currency holding
- Legal entity
- Monzo Bank Limited
- Product note
- Monzo documents international sending from a GBP account, conversion of supported foreign receipts into GBP and foreign-currency card conversion. The current evidence does not establish persistent foreign-currency balances.
- Protection model
- Eligible GBP deposits are direct Monzo Bank Limited deposits under FSCS rules; a converted receipt does not become a separately protected foreign-currency balance.A supported sending currency or card transaction proves conversion, not holding or a local foreign account detail.
View legal and product sources
Revolut
uk bank business current account with supported currency subaccounts- Market status
- business bank account with plan currency payment and exchange conditions
- Legal entity
- Revolut Bank UK Ltd
- Product note
- The current cited business terms provide a GBP current account and supported currency subaccounts. New bank accounts and migrated eligible deposits use the bank state; separate group products retain separate agreements.
- Protection model
- Eligible deposits with Revolut Bank UK Ltd can receive FSCS protection subject to product eligibility and aggregation; e-money still in transition and separate products do not inherit that state.Customer migration, entity eligibility, plan, currency, payment, exchange and separate-product terms remain conditional.
View legal and product sources
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Protection boundary
FSCS follows the authorised firm; safeguarding follows the e-money institution.
The current FSCS limit is up to GBP 120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm, subject to product and scheme eligibility. Eligible Starling GBP and EUR deposits count together at Starling Bank Limited rather than receiving a fresh limit for each currency. Eligible Revolut Bank UK deposits likewise aggregate at that authorised firm. A subaccount, virtual detail, plan upgrade or second currency does not create a separate bank licence.
The legal state also matters during change. Revolut says new UK customers receive bank accounts while migration of some older e-money accounts is staged. An account still in an e-money state uses safeguarding rather than bank-deposit protection. Wise ordinary balances remain safeguarded e-money. Wise Assets, crypto, investments, insurance and any separate group product must be checked under its own agreement; bank status cannot spill across a brand into an unrelated product.
Starling deposit
Eligible GBP and EUR deposits aggregate at Starling Bank Limited.
Revolut bank state
Eligible migrated or new bank deposits follow Revolut Bank UK Ltd conditions.
Wise e-money
Ordinary balances are safeguarded and are not FSCS-protected bank deposits.
Monzo GBP deposit
Conversion of foreign value does not create a separate foreign-currency deposit.
Capability and cost matrix
Free holding does not mean free receiving, conversion or sending.
Check the authenticated quote and exact rail before every material payment.
Wise: broad e-money functions
Wise's UK page describes use across 40 currencies, while the observed pricing page says holding more than 40 supported currencies is free. Conversion still uses a displayed rate and currency-specific fee. Receiving details cover a narrower range than balances. For cited GBP details, eligible users receive a sort code, account number and BIC, but Wise explicitly says these details are not a bank account. The GBP Swift route accepts only listed currencies, has a cited GBP 2.16 Wise receiving fee and can involve correspondent deductions. Card, transfer, business and investment availability remain separate.
Revolut: business plan allowances
Revolut's current UK business schedule lists Basic at GBP 10 monthly, Grow at GBP 35 monthly or GBP 360 annually, Scale at GBP 125 monthly or GBP 1,080 annually and Enterprise at custom pricing. Domestic payment, international transfer and foreign-exchange allowances differ by plan. The cited over-allowance FX fee is 0.6%, outside-market-hours fee 1% and ATM withdrawal fee 2%, but the final in-app price and current plan control. Payment acceptance uses separate percentage-plus-fixed pricing and is not a free extension of a currency subaccount.
Starling and Monzo: narrow bank paths
Starling's euro account page lists no monthly holding fee and a 0.4% GBP-EUR conversion fee. That narrow deposit can send and receive supported EUR through SEPA and use conditional card-currency controls. Monzo instead converts supported foreign receipts into GBP before they appear and converts for foreign card spending or international sends. Plan fees, external-bank costs, exchange quotes, limits and review can apply. Neither path supports a claim that every listed payment currency is a held bank balance.
Receiving-detail sequence
Match the detail, currency and rail before money leaves the sender.
A sort code and account number can be a GBP local route, while a BIC or IBAN can be part of a different international instruction. Wise's displayed GBP details are not a customer bank account and its Swift instruction accepts a defined currency set. Starling's euro IBAN belongs to a direct EUR deposit account, but the terms say a non-EUR payment to that account is declined and returned. Monzo may accept a supported foreign receipt only by converting it into GBP before credit. The similar-looking form fields do not make these routes interchangeable.
Open the current authenticated detail each time. Confirm beneficiary name, currency, domestic or international rail, sender and payer eligibility, account state and required reference. Review provider, intermediary, recipient, exchange and return charges separately. If the detail changes or a payment enters compliance review, preserve the original instruction and wait for the provider's status. Re-sending can create a duplicate while the first payment is still pending.
- 01Open the exact held balance or receipt flow in the authenticated account.
- 02Confirm personal or business eligibility, legal entity and product state.
- 03Match currency, local or Swift or SEPA rail, beneficiary and reference.
- 04Review conversion, receiving, intermediary, recipient and return charges.
- 05Track one instruction through pending, reviewed, credited or returned states.
Loading, empty, stale, error and unavailable states
A pending intermediary is not an available currency balance.
Keep the stage visible before deciding whether to wait, correct or complain.
Loading or empty currency list
A loading screen is not evidence that a currency has disappeared, and an empty list is not permission to infer support from a marketing page. Retry safely, check service status and confirm the user's market, account type, verification and product. Do not initiate a substitute route while the authenticated state is unresolved.
Currency unavailable
If a balance or detail is missing, treat it as unavailable for that customer. A global holding count, a supported outgoing currency, a Mastercard or Visa acceptance mark, or a feature in another country does not establish UK access. Preserve the unavailable state rather than turning it into an estimated capability.
Detail changed or stale
Providers can change bank partners, routing fields, IBANs or references. Use the current authenticated detail for every payment. If a sender used an old instruction, retain the receipt and follow the migration or return guidance. Do not redirect a payment through a personally supplied account number.
Intermediary hold or deduction
Swift and other international payments can involve correspondent and recipient banks. They can request information, delay credit or deduct fees outside the provider's own charge. Record sender, provider, intermediary, recipient and conversion amounts separately; the dashboard fee is not a guaranteed total.
Wrong currency or conversion
Starling says a non-EUR payment to its euro account is declined and returned. A supported Monzo foreign receipt can instead be converted into GBP. Wise Swift details accept a defined currency list. Before retrying, determine whether the outcome was rejection, return or conversion and whether bank charges changed the amount.
Restricted, closing or disputed
Receiving, exchange, cards and transfers may be restricted independently during identity, fraud, sanctions or activity review. Follow the exact notice and provider complaint route, then the eligible Financial Ombudsman or other escalation path if applicable. Never hide payer identity, business activity or payment purpose to bypass a restriction.
Decision walkthroughs
Six UK currency jobs lead to different product choices.
These examples classify evidence; they are not tax, legal, treasury or investment advice.
Personal travel balances
Wise documents broad personal holding and card use, while Starling's euro account can suit an eligible existing customer focused only on EUR. Compare funding, held currency, exchange quote, spending order, cash withdrawal, card availability and protection. Do not pre-convert merely because holding is possible or assume every card currency has a balance.
Salary or client receipt
Confirm whether the payer can use the exact detail and whether personal or business use is allowed. Wise GBP details can receive eligible local or supported Swift payments but are not a bank account. Starling's euro IBAN is a bank deposit route for EUR. Monzo may convert supported foreign value into GBP before it appears.
UK business with several currencies
Revolut's cited business account offers bank current-account and supported currency subaccount context. Wise provides a non-bank business payment-account alternative. Compare entity eligibility, beneficial-owner checks, plans, payment allowances, exchange timing, local details, approval holds and protection. A bank licence does not make every group service a bank product.
EUR-only secondary deposit
Starling is the narrowest precise answer when an eligible existing personal customer needs a direct EUR deposit alongside a GBP account. It is not a broad multicurrency wallet: the account is EUR only, requires continued GBP-account eligibility and returns non-EUR incoming payments under the cited terms.
Occasional international payment
Monzo may be sufficient when the user only needs to convert GBP for a supported send or foreign card purchase. Compare the live quote, plan fee, recipient route and limits. Persistent holding can add complexity without benefit; equally, a conversion feature must not be relabelled as a multicurrency account.
Keeping operating cash protected
Begin with the legal holder, product state and aggregate exposure. Add eligible Starling deposits across GBP and EUR, and eligible Revolut Bank UK deposits across subaccounts, by authorised firm. Keep Wise safeguarded e-money and optional investment products separate. Monitor other deposits held at the same bank outside the app.
Approved evidence
Every currency claim keeps its product state and observation date.
Balances, details, rails, fees, legal entities and protection require launch-time and material-change reverification.
Wise UK multicurrency evidence
Wise is displayed as uk electronic money institution personal and business multicurrency account.
- Wise's current UK personal page describes use across 40 currencies and international receiving details while identifying the ordinary account as e-money rather than a bank deposit.
- Ordinary Wise funds are safeguarded and not FSCS protected; optional Wise Assets invests money through a separate entity and can have distinct FSCS and capital-risk treatment.
- Holding, local details, card spending, conversion, transfers and investment activation remain separate capabilities and protection states.
- The observed UK pricing page says holding more than 40 supported currencies is free.
- Conversion uses the displayed exchange rate plus a currency-specific fee, so free holding does not imply free receiving, conversion, sending, Swift or card use.
- The authenticated quote and current feature availability control the exact transaction.
- Eligible customers receive a sort code, account number and BIC for GBP local or supported Swift receipts, but Wise explicitly says the details are not a bank account.
- The cited GBP Swift route accepts only listed currencies, has a GBP 2.16 Wise receiving fee and can involve correspondent-bank fees.
- Verification, account state, rail, currency, detail set, beneficiary and sender information must match the current instruction.
- Wise Payments Limited is not a bank and its e-money and payment services are not covered by FSCS deposit protection.
- Wise describes safeguarding customer funds separately from its operating money.
- Wise Business supports conditional international receiving, holding, conversion, sending, cards, team access, batch payments and API functions for eligible businesses.
- Features, currencies, receiving details, cards, limits and onboarding evidence vary by business location, entity and account state.
- Wise Payments Limited is an electronic-money institution for the cited UK relationship, not a bank deposit provider.
- The current page lists GBP 50 for the full business feature setup, currency-dependent sending and conversion from 0.33%, and free holding of ordinary supported currency balances.
- Receiving domestic non-Swift payments in the listed currencies is free while Swift or wire receipts have currency-specific fixed charges.
- Card, ATM, external-wallet top-up, Wise Interest and Stocks pricing remain separate; investment products carry capital risk and do not turn ordinary safeguarded e-money into bank deposits.
Revolut UK multicurrency evidence
Revolut is displayed as uk bank business current account with supported currency subaccounts.
- Revolut states that Revolut Bank UK Ltd became a fully licensed UK bank in March 2026, FRN 981170.
- New UK customers receive bank accounts, while migration of some existing e-money accounts is staged.
- FSCS protection applies to eligible bank deposits; e-money accounts still in transition use safeguarding instead.
- Crypto, investments and other products may be provided by separate legal entities and must be assessed separately.
- The current terms make Revolut Bank UK Ltd the provider of the GBP business current account and supported currency sub-accounts; separate group products retain separate agreements.
- Eligible deposits are stated as FSCS protected up to the current statutory limit across eligible deposits held with Revolut Bank UK Ltd, subject to scheme eligibility and aggregation.
- Onboarding criteria, supported entity and industry restrictions, authorised-person roles, plan terms, payment limits, holds and account-specific availability remain conditional.
- The current schedule lists Basic at GBP 10 monthly, Grow at GBP 35 monthly or GBP 360 annually, Scale at GBP 125 monthly or GBP 1,080 annually and Enterprise at custom pricing.
- Plan allowances differ for domestic payments, international transfers and foreign exchange; the cited over-allowance FX fee is 0.6% and the outside-market-hours fee is 1%.
- ATM withdrawals carry a 2% fee, payment acceptance uses separate percentage-plus-fixed pricing and the final in-app fee controls.
- FSCS protects eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks, building societies and credit unions.
- The current limit is up to GBP 120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm; scheme and product eligibility still apply.
- The limit increased on 1 December 2025.
Starling Bank UK multicurrency evidence
Starling Bank is displayed as uk bank gbp current account with secondary personal euro deposit account.
- Eligible Starling personal-current-account customers can apply for a separate euro current account that can hold, send and receive EUR through supported SEPA functions.
- The current page lists no monthly holding fee, a 0.4% GBP-EUR conversion fee and conditional card spending from the EUR account through currency controls.
- The euro account is a Starling Bank deposit with a unique IBAN; total eligible Starling deposits aggregate under current FSCS rules.
- The current terms restrict the personal euro account to EUR payments and require an open Starling GBP personal current account plus continued eligibility.
- A non-EUR payment sent to the euro account is declined and returned; other currencies can instead enter the GBP account and be converted before transfer to EUR.
- Payment, conversion, card, restriction, closure and residual-balance handling retain separate terms, rates and fees.
- The information sheet states that most eligible individual and business deposits at Starling Bank Limited enter the FSCS framework at the current statutory limit.
- The limit aggregates eligible deposits held by the same depositor at Starling Bank in the same protected capacity; the account statement confirms eligibility.
- FSCS covers eligible deposit failure, not business losses, card fraud, payment disputes, currency conversion or service availability.
Monzo UK multicurrency evidence
Monzo is displayed as uk bank gbp account with foreign currency conversion only.
- The current page lists a free UK current account, debit card, Pots, payment tools and separate paid-plan, savings, credit and investment options subject to their own terms.
- It shows 2.75% AER variable for cited Instant Access savings and 3.25% for eligible Perks and Max customers; rates, products and eligibility can change.
- The page reports App Store 4.9 and Google Play 4.8 as of 27 April 2026; those dated marketing snapshots are not reliability evidence or a NeobankDB score.
- The linked current terms identify a personal UK current account directly at Monzo Bank Limited, require UK residency and prohibit business use of that personal account.
- The terms separate the main balance, Pots, cards, UK and international transfers, Direct Debits, cash, cheques, overdrafts, fees, screening, closures and app requirements.
- The PDF still prints the former GBP 85,000 FSCS limit, so NeobankDB uses the newer December 2025 Monzo FSCS sheet and current FSCS source for the GBP 120,000 limit.
- Monzo lists supported foreign currencies for international sending from its GBP current account and says GBP itself is not sent through that international flow.
- A supported outgoing currency list proves conversion and sending, not a held balance, local foreign receiving detail or foreign-currency deposit account.
- Eligibility, recipient, quote, third-party rate, fees, limits, review and unsupported-currency treatment remain transaction-specific.
- The cited plan fee information says supported EUR and other foreign-currency receipts are converted to GBP before appearing in the Monzo account, with the stated plan fee and external-bank costs potentially applying.
- Monzo card spending in a foreign currency also uses conversion rather than a persistent foreign-currency deposit balance.
- International receipt, outgoing transfer and card conversion must not be combined into an unsupported multicurrency-holding claim.
- FSCS protects eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks, building societies and credit unions.
- The current limit is up to GBP 120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm; scheme and product eligibility still apply.
- The limit increased on 1 December 2025.
United Kingdom FSCS and safeguarding evidence
- FSCS protects eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks, building societies and credit unions.
- The current limit is up to GBP 120,000 per eligible person, per authorised firm; scheme and product eligibility still apply.
- The limit increased on 1 December 2025.
- Funds held by authorised electronic money institutions and authorised payment institutions are safeguarded rather than protected by FSCS deposit protection.
- Safeguarding and FSCS deposit protection are distinct protection models.
Unavailable or deliberately not inferred
- A universal best multicurrency account, numerical ranking or permanent currency count.
- A held currency, local foreign detail or deposit inferred from a card or international transfer list.
- A Monzo foreign-currency balance inferred from supported sending, receipt or card conversion.
- A Starling balance beyond EUR inferred from its GBP account, card controls or other currency payments.
- A fresh FSCS limit per currency, subaccount, plan, brand screen or separate product.
- Guaranteed total cost, exchange rate, arrival time, correspondent deduction, approval or return outcome.
- Customer-specific tax, accounting, hedging, treasury or investment advice.