Receive free Revolut Ltd updates
we will send you myFT Daily Digest Email summary of latest news Revolution Ltd. There is news every morning.
Revolut is in talks with the UK financial regulator over an alleged failure to allow funds to be withdrawn from accounts flagged as suspicious by the National Crime Agency, the latest in a series of problems for the fintech as it awaits a UK banking licence. Together.
The Financial Conduct Authority, which oversees Revolut’s payments business, is engaging with the fintech company, with support from the NCA, over alleged breaches that occurred between July and August, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Two people familiar with the matter said as much as 1.7 million pounds was released from the flagged accounts. One of the people said Revolut informed the FCA of the latest issues in recent weeks but claimed it had only released 500,000 pounds. Revolut declined to comment, as did the NCA and FCA.
The NCA can restrict accounts due to suspicion of money laundering or illegal financing to allow law enforcement to investigate before further withdrawals of funds.
Revolut’s control of financial crime and money laundering has been a long-standing focus of regulators overseeing the fintech’s global operations. The concerns are also related to flaws in its payment system that allowed US criminals to steal more than $20 million, according to previous reports by the Financial Times.
The latest UK troubles come as Revolut has been bidding for a banking license for nearly two and a half years to boost growth in its home market and talks continue.
After predicting in March that it would be granted a UK license “at any time”, Revolut said this week it “will not comment on license applications”.
“As a global financial institution, we work closely with regulators around the world to ensure we maintain strong governance and compliance practices across our business,” the fintech company said.
“Since our founding in 2015, Revolut has secured more than 70 licenses across a range of financial services and we will continue to build on this to ensure our more than 30 million customers can continue to use our industry-leading products with confidence.”
Revolut was founded by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko to shake up the cross-border payments market and has since expanded its services from cryptocurrency trading to savings, wealth management and SME banking.
Since 2021, it has held a full banking license in Lithuania, allowing it to provide banking services throughout the European Economic Area. After raising capital in 2021, the company was named the most valuable private technology company in the UK, with a valuation of $33 billion.
The fintech company has suffered a series of setbacks in 2023, including a late release of its 2021 accounts, while also warning that revenue “may be materially misstated” due to IT system issues.
Revolut said earlier this month that its 2022 accounts would also be delayed, this time to the end of December.
Despite this, fintech continued its impressive growth, climbing to 30 million By June, its number of retail customers will equal that of Lloyds Banking Group, which has more than 30 million customers, far more than NatWest. ) of 18 million customers.
Svlook
