Revolut has been identified as having more fraud complaints than any major UK bank, posing significant challenges amid its new banking license.
- Nearly 10,000 fraud complaints have been reported against Revolut last year, surpassing other major banks like Barclays.
- Concerns are mounting regarding Revolut’s security measures, as one customer experienced significant financial loss without timely support from the bank.
- Revolut criticizes social media companies, blaming them for facilitating fraud and calls for their accountability in reimbursing victims.
- The fintech is implementing policy changes and grappling with regulation adjustments as it transitions into a fully-fledged bank.
Revolut, one of the UK’s emerging fin-tech companies, is under scrutiny as it tops the list for fraud complaints compared to any other major UK bank. The company, located in Canary Wharf, has been provisionally granted a banking license and has accumulated nearly 10,000 fraud-related complaints over the past year, according to a BBC Panorama investigation. This tally not only surpasses that of Barclays by approximately 2,000 complaints but also doubles the number reported by its fintech competitor, Monzo.
The scrutiny intensified after a Revolut customer reported a loss of £165,000 through their business account. The customer criticized the bank’s security protocols, describing the lack of a direct helpline and delayed responses through the app’s chat function as inadequate. A company insider remarked that financial crime prevention has been secondary to product launches and customer engagement strategies.
In its defense, Revolut asserts its commitment to customer outcomes and claims to have a ‘high performance culture’. The bank insists that new product launches undergo comprehensive risk assessments and governance approvals. Furthermore, Revolut states it has significantly invested in its financial crime prevention team, which now constitutes more than a third of its global workforce. However, social media scams continue to be a significant challenge for the company.
Revolut has expressed dissatisfaction with the measures taken by major social media companies like Meta, labeling their efforts as ‘baby steps’, and argues for these platforms to bear financial responsibility for fraud victim reimbursement. Woody Malouf, head of financial crime at Revolut, emphasized that, at present, the cost of fraud is borne entirely by victims and financial institutions, without enough incentive for social media firms to act against fraud.
As Revolut adjusts to new regulations in its evolution into a complete banking entity, it has introduced some policy changes. Notable among these is its updated terms and conditions policy, allowing account closures for ‘reason’ rather than ‘good reason’. This adjustment is intended to align with industry standards. Meanwhile, changes in reimbursement limits for Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud, recently reduced from £415,000 to £85,000, have been met with criticism, as some argue this could undermine anti-fraud advancements.
Revolut is at a pivotal moment, balancing regulatory demands with internal challenges of fraud prevention.
