Revolut, the e-money firm founded in 2015 by two former bankers, has gained popularity thanks to its broad range of features, including the option to hold money in different currencies, transfer it abroad, buy individual stocks, invest in commodities, and access cryptocurrencies. However, these features, described by Revolut as an “all-in-one finance app for your money” could also be its weakness, according to cyber security experts. “If you have a product which can link to all the different aspects of your financial life, and you get compromised by a fraud or scam, then that is highly dangerous”, says Prof Mark Button.
Revolut has nine million customers in the UK and last year announced record annual profits of £438m. However, it was also named in more reports of fraud than any other major UK bank in data collected last year by Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime. For example, more than 100 people have contacted the BBC, following a Panorama investigation into the e-money firm, to report poor treatment by Revolut after they were scammed.
One such customer, Dr Ravi Kumar, an NHS consultant, lost £39k in May when scammers tricked him into transferring money into his Revolut account and giving them access to it. Kumar was saving the money for his teenagers. While Dr Kumar has hired lawyers to submit his claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and finance companies, his alleged lack of recourse from Revolut demonstrates how fintechs might leave customers exposed to the risks of fraud.
Lynne Elms, who was working at her best friend’s cosmetics company in November 2022, lost £160k in seven minutes when scammers, who said they were from Revolut, took control of her computer. Revolut has faced criticism from victims who have lost money through scams, who say the impact goes beyond financial stress. “It felt like I was losing my business and my best friend,” says Elms. “It was the worst time of my life. I never thought I’d get over it. I don’t think I have.” Victims say Revolut has failed to protect them, and they have had trouble contacting the company
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