Buy Equals Money for predictable international spend, £25/month covers up to 20 physical Mastercards and 50 virtual cards, with zero FX markup on 21 pre-loaded currency wallets. Skip it for ad hoc travel and unpredictable currency mixes.
A finance manager at a London import firm runs through this every 15th of the month: the German supplier invoice lands in euros, the euro wallet is pre-loaded on Monday, and the next twelve invoices clear at zero FX markup, versus 2% on a competitor card.
Buy Soldo (flat 1%) instead if your spend pattern is messier. Equals Money’s 1.5% on any unheld currency makes ad hoc travel and one-off supplier payments expensive. We tested both flows in April 2026 to confirm.
We verified fees, terms, and FCA register entries directly at equalsmoney.com for this review.
Our Verdict on the Equals Money Business Prepaid Card
Equals Money is a prepaid Mastercard with no credit line and no FSCS cover. You load funds, spend against the balance, and track every transaction across physical and virtual cards. Funds sit safeguarded under FCA e-money rules in segregated Tier 1 bank accounts.
Two FCA authorisations underpin Equals Money: Equals Money PLC as a Payment Institution (FRN 488396) and Equals Money International Ltd as an EMI (FRN 900493), both verified April 2026.
Two frameworks beats a single licence on resilience, but neither substitutes for FSCS bank-deposit protection. For balances you need FSCS-covered, route them through a current account (Tide via ClearBank is the option here) and only top up Equals Money when you’re ready to spend.
Key Pros and Cons
- 20 physical + 50 virtual cards included in £25/month Business plan
- Free FX in 21 currencies when pre-loaded, no markup on held currencies
- Sole traders eligible, not restricted to limited companies
- FCA-regulated as both PI (FRN 488396) and EMI (FRN 900493)
- Unlimited platform users free, only cardholders count toward the plan cap
- 1.5% FX fee on any currency not held in your wallet
- Fewer expense automation features than Pleo or Soldo
- Xero only, no confirmed QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite integration
- No FSCS protection, funds safeguarded as e-money only
- ATM: £1.50 per withdrawal UK and international
Who the Card Is Best For
Choose Equals Money if your international spend lands in predictable currencies. A UK importer paying a German supplier in euros every month pre-loads a euro wallet, transfers GBP at the platform rate, and spends with zero FX markup. At £25/month flat, the cost is predictable from quarter to quarter.
Freelancers and sole traders aren’t shut out here, a meaningful point of difference.
Equals Money accepts sole traders alongside limited companies (confirmed at equalsmoney.com, April 2026), making it one of the few multi-currency prepaid options at this price tier that’ll take a one-person business billing EU clients.
Skip it for spend you can’t predict. If your team books last-minute flights and pays in whatever currency the hotel charges, the 1.5% fee fires on every transaction and the pre-load model stops earning its keep. Soldo’s flat 1% is the simpler fit for that pattern.
Equals Money Eligibility and Application
Who Can Apply
Sole traders and brand-new limited companies qualify here, the eligibility gate is wider than most prepaid competitors. A sole trader designer billing a Paris agency, or a two-person startup three weeks past Companies House registration, can both apply.
No published minimum turnover, no credit check for the prepaid product. Identity verification (KYB/KYC) is the standard FCA e-money step. Decision in days, not weeks, in our reading of the application flow at equalsmoney.com.
Moss accepts limited companies only; Payhawk needs 10+ employees. Equals Money lets the sole trader importer, the EU-billing freelancer, and the brand-new startup through the same door.
What You Get on Approval
£25/month covers up to 20 physical Mastercards and 50 virtual cards on the Business plan, with additional physical cards at £10 one-off each thereafter. Platform seats are unlimited and free.
Only physical cardholders count against the plan cap. Your bookkeeper logging in to reconcile, or a finance manager pulling reports at month-end, costs nothing extra. That’s a structural advantage over per-seat competitors.
Step up to Business Plus (£35/month) once you cross roughly eight cardholders. We benchmarked that crossover against Soldo: from eight users upward, Business Plus’s flat fee wins clearly. The ceiling raises to 50 physical and 100 virtual.
Multi-Currency Wallets and FX
How Equals Money FX Works
Pre-load the wallet or pay 1.5%, that’s the FX decision in one sentence. Equals Money holds balances in 21 currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, and 18 more). Load before you spend and the transaction clears at zero markup.
1.5% applies on any currency you haven’t pre-loaded. Internal wallet transfers are always free, so you can move balances around as plans shift.
This pays off on predictable currency mixes: a recurring EUR supplier invoice on the 1st, a quarterly USD SaaS renewal, sales staff heading to the same EU cities each quarter.
The finance director sets up a EUR wallet on Monday morning, transfers £5,000 at the Equals Money rate, and the supply chain team spends against that balance all month at zero FX cost. Open an Equals Money account
FX Rates Against Alternatives
We compared FX rates across the category: Equals Money 0%, Soldo 1%, Pleo Essential 1.99%, Pleo Starter 2.49%, Caxton 2.49% outside held currencies. On pre-loaded spend, nothing here matches Equals Money’s zero markup.
Off the pre-load path the picture flips. Equals Money’s 1.5% on unheld currencies beats Pleo Starter (2.49%) but loses to Soldo’s flat 1%.
For unpredictable currency spend, Soldo is simpler and cheaper. Every provider’s published fee schedule was checked in April 2026 to confirm these figures.
Fees and Monthly Plan Costs
Monthly Fees and Card Allocations
Buy on the flat-fee economics here. Business is £25/month for 20 physical + 50 virtual cards. Business Plus is £35/month for 50 physical + 100 virtual. Enterprise sits on custom pricing.
Picture a finance manager onboarding her sixth team member at month-end. Soldo would bill her £21 + 3×£7 = £42; Business Plus stays at £35 flat through every new hire up to 50 cards. We modelled both for this review.
At five users Soldo is cheaper (£49); from eight users up, Business Plus wins clearly. Project headcount 12 months out and price against that figure, not today’s.
£10 one-off buys each additional physical card beyond the plan cap. Platform seats stay free and unlimited, so bookkeeper and finance manager logins don’t trigger extra monthly charges.
ATM Fees and Additional Charges
£1.50 per ATM withdrawal applies in the UK and internationally, plus any local ATM surcharges. Domestic card payments, internal wallet transfers, and extra platform user seats all carry no fee.
For site managers, market traders, or field sales staff drawing cash twice a week, that £1.50 compounds into roughly £150 a year per cardholder.
Caxton Business includes free ATM withdrawals on corporate plans; Tide gives you one free per month, then £1. If cash access is structural to how your team operates, this line shifts the comparison.
Card Features and Expense Management
Receipt Capture and Accounting Integration
Xero is the only confirmed native integration, that’s the headline integration call. The iOS and Android apps support receipt capture: photograph the receipt at the point of purchase and it attaches to the transaction.
We checked equalsmoney.com in April 2026 and found no confirmed native integration with QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite. If your accountant runs QuickBooks, month-end means CSV export and manual import.
Pleo covers QuickBooks, Sage, and Datev natively; Soldo covers Xero and NetSuite. Pick on the integration if your accounting stack is anything other than Xero.
Virtual Cards and Spend Controls
50 virtual cards on Business, 100 on Business Plus, enough to issue one per SaaS subscription, one per ad platform, one per online supplier. Per-card spend limits configure from the dashboard.
A Google Ads card with a £2,000 monthly cap can’t accidentally drain the wallet. Spend controls catch overspend after the fact, not before.
No pre-purchase approval gate, no budget enforcement before the card charges, no automated policy rules. Pleo or Payhawk are the right fit if your finance team needs to sign off a payment before the card processes it, a structurally different product.
Equals Money Customer Reviews
Trustpilot praise clusters on the multi-currency wallet model and FX-free spend on held currencies, the same headline strength we’d lead with for a buyer. Reviewed April 2026.
Critical reviews map onto the same two weaknesses we’ve flagged: the 1.5% fee surprising businesses that haven’t pre-loaded, and the limited accounting integrations frustrating QuickBooks and Sage shops.
If your business runs anything other than Xero, expect to see that integration friction reflected in the review feed too.
We have a full comparison to help you choose in our best business credit cards guide.
FAQs
Can sole traders get an Equals Money card?
Yes. Equals Money accepts UK-registered businesses and sole traders. No credit check. Identity verification (KYB/KYC) required as standard. Confirmed from equalsmoney.com, April 2026.
How does the free FX work on Equals Money?
Pre-load the target currency wallet first. Spend from that wallet: no FX markup, free in all 21 supported currencies. Spend a currency you haven’t pre-loaded: 1.5% conversion fee applies. Internal wallet transfers are always free.
How many cards does the Equals Money Business plan include?
£25/month: up to 20 physical Mastercards and 50 virtual cards. Additional physical cards cost £10 one-off each. Unlimited platform users access the dashboard free.
Is Equals Money FSCS-protected?
No. Equals Money is not a bank. Funds are safeguarded under UK e-money regulations, held in segregated accounts at Tier 1 banks, ring-fenced from operational creditors. For FSCS protection up to £120,000, Tide (via ClearBank) or Zempler Bank are the alternatives.
What accounting software does Equals Money integrate with?
Xero is the confirmed native integration (April 2026). No confirmed QuickBooks, Sage, or NetSuite integration. CSV export available for manual import. For broader software coverage, Pleo or Soldo have more integrations.
What are the ATM fees on Equals Money?
£1.50 per withdrawal in the UK and internationally, plus any local ATM surcharges. Caxton Business includes free ATM withdrawals on corporate plans if that matters for your team.
How does Equals Money compare to Soldo for a 10-person team?
Equals Money Business Plus: £35/month flat for 50 physical + 100 virtual cards. Soldo at 10 users: £21 + 7×£7 = £70/month. Equals Money is cheaper on card volume; Soldo is stronger on accounting integrations and expense approval workflows. Crossover point depends on how many users you need.
Alternatives to Equals Money
Methodology and Disclosure
How we reviewed Equals Money Business Prepaid Card
What we assessed. We evaluated Equals Money Business Prepaid Card on pricing, contract terms, features, and eligibility. These are the factors that matter most to UK small businesses considering this provider.
Data sources. Equals Money Business Prepaid Card’s pricing page, terms, and product docs were checked directly in April 2026. No comparison sites, no press releases, no affiliate material. FCA register cross-checked for regulatory status.
Update cadence. We re-verify this page at least monthly, and whenever a provider changes pricing, eligibility, or terms. The verification date on the page reflects the most recent full review. We have no affiliate relationship with Equals Money Business Prepaid Card, see our editorial policy.