The help page titled “Will I be charged for topping up by transfer” says the following. What does this mean, please?
If your transfer is in EUR or CHF and your bank is using SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) then a transfer to Revolut will cost the same as a domestic transfer.
What is a “domestic transfer”? Is that the same as Local, so this means that there is no fee?
A domestic transfer is the same as a local one.
Revolut does not charge you a Fee to receive your transfers but your bank might take a fee for doing the transfer. So to make sure there is no fee you need to talk to your bank first.
So “domestic”, “local” and “sepa” all mean the same thing? It would be good if the help text stuck to one term!
The circumstances I am thinking of are of someone else needing to give me Euros. I can’t be exp cted to call their bank to.find.out if there will be a fee, so how can I tell whether this is a good payment route to ask them to use?
No it means different things.
My understanding is that SEPA can only work with Euro. And your SEPA account information is there for under the “local” tab since SEPA is “domestic” and “local” inside the European Economic Area.
If you go to your GBP then the local information relates to inside Great Britain in this case it is a real “domestic” transfer as it is done inside the borders of that country.
Thanks, Henrik. I think I understand.
So, “local” and “domestic” mean the same (they really should stick to one term, then), and “SEPA” is the name of the transfer method used if it is a local Euro transfer.
I guess, then, that “SWIFT” is the name of the transfer method used if it is not a local transfer? So, the two tabs should really be labelled “local” and “non-local”, because “local” and “SWIFT” refer to different kinds of things?
What is the name of the transfer method used for a non-Euro local transfer?
And how can I judge whether a sender’s bank is likely to charge fees for a SEPA (Euro, local) transfer?
Transfer fees cant exceed charges for domestic euro transfers. Meaning, it usually is free but not always.
Thanks, but I don’t understand what you mean by “Transfers cant exceed charges”
Sorry, bad wording (respectively omitted a word 
) Fixed now
Thanks again, but I still don’t understand! What is the difference between “transfer fees” and “charges”?
Well, the transfer fee is what a bank might charge you for that transfer. And with SEPA that cant exceed what they charge locally for a euro transfer.
This is a local transfer, right? We said above that SEPA is the method used for a local Euro transfer.
By local I meant a domestic transfer within that country.
Oh, OK - thanks. So “charges” = fees charged by the sending bank for transferring money in the same currency in the same country? And “transfer fees” = fees charged by the sending bank for transferring money to a different country or into a different currency?
So … Under SEPA, if the sending bank would make no charges for sending Euros to another account in the same country, it may not either charge its account holder a transfer fee for sending Euros to my Revolut account, even if that is in a different country?
Charges and fees is in that context interchangeable. I was referring to the costs that a bank might charge you to send a transfer.
SEPA is not primarily targeted at domestic transfers, but SEPA does state that a European transfer cant cost more than a domestic one. So if your bank does not charge you for domestic euro transfers it neither can for European SEPA transfers. If they do however, they can also charge you for sending funds to your local euro Revolut account.
Thanks again. To be clear, I am.not talking here about me making the transfer from my bank account, but someone else making the transfer from their Euro account to my Revolut account (GBP base, but also with Euro payment details of IBAN etc.)
Does it make a difference to the fees that the sending bank can charge that the transfer is to another person’s account?
(I ask because you say “you” throughout, as though it is me doing the sending)
It was meant as the generic you.
It should not matter much who is doing it, as long as it is euro the same rules apply. You mentioned sterling though. What is the currency of the transaction?
I am specifically asking about receiving Euros. I mention GBP only because that is the base currency of my Revolut account. I do have, as far as I can tell, personal account details for my Euro ledger.
Alright, then you should be fine. As long as you provide that person with your local euro account they should be able to send it under SEPA regulations if they send it from a SEPA currency in EUR. Most likely they would neither be charged for that transfer (even though that could depend on their bank).