Revolut Reportedly Lost $20M to Criminals Due to System Flaws

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The London-based fintech company, Revolut reportedly lost
$20 million to fraudsters due to a fault in its payment systems, the Financial
Times (FT) reported citing several sources familiar with the matter. The security
incident occurred over several months, the publication reported.</p><p>The fraudsters
reportedly took advantage of a flaw caused by the difference between Revolut's
payment systems in Europe and the systems in the US. Three people familiar with the matter
told the FT that unsuccessful transactions were still refunded to customer
accounts due to the technical issue.</p><p>Organized Criminal Groups</p><p>Additionally, the
sources told the publication that the problem started towards the end of 2021
and organized criminal groups took advantage of the situation. The groups
reportedly encouraged users to make large transactions that were likely to be
declined. The amount transacted were then withdrawn from the ATMs and
paid by the company from its corporate accounts.</p><p>The system issue was
discovered when one of Revolut's banking partners in the US told the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/f/fintech/">fintech</a>
that its account balances had been erroneously captured. After the issue was
discovered, the sources said, Revolut sent funds to the US subsidiary to cover
the losses. The issue was addressed in the Spring of 2022.</p><p>Finance Magnates contacted Revolut for comments and had not received any communication at the time of writing. </p><p>The development arrived at a time Revolut is expanding its services globally. A few days ago,
the company <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/payments/revolut-expands-financial-services-to-new-zealand/" target="_blank" rel="follow">launched
its services in New Zealand</a>,
marking its initial entry into the region. Through its financial services app,
Revolut expects to allow users in New Zealand access to foreign currency
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/exchange/">exchange</a> services, peer-to-peer payments, among other services, the company said.</p><p>Revolut
Defies Concerns </p><p>Commenting on the
launch, Matt Baxby, the CEO of Revolut in Australia and New Zealand, said:
"We are incredibly excited to be launching Revolut in New Zealand to
enable Kiwis to access a seamless and affordable global money management
experience, secure budgeting, analytical features, and advanced physical and
digital card control capabilities, on one seamless location."</p><p>Additionally, Revolut <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/revolut-expands-super-app-with-robo-advisor-launch-in-us/" target="_blank" rel="follow">introduced
robo-advisors</a> for users
in the US in June. The application uses algorithms and computer programs to
offer automated and personalized investment advice. During the unveiling, the
fintech firm praised the move as a way to "remove friction in investing."</p><p>Meanwhile,
Revolut announced in May that it was seeking a banking license in Australia. The
announcement followed the company's launch of business accounts in the country.
However, Revolut is yet to receive a similar license in the UK after <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/revolut-seeks-banking-license-in-australia/" target="_blank" rel="follow">submitting an application in 2021</a>.</p>

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.