The UK’s Financial Ombudsman has reported a 35% increase in customer complaints regarding denied reimbursement requests for scam thefts from Revolut.
According to data obtained by Bloomberg, in nearly half of the cases reviewed and resolved last year, the ombudsman mandated Revolut to reimburse affected customers. However, data from law firms representing customers indicate that Revolut has continued to reject these claims.
This development comes in advance of new regulations set by the Payment Systems Regulator, which will take effect in October. These rules require payment service providers in the UK to reimburse customers who fall victim to authorized push payment (APP) scams while using Faster Payments. The reimbursement amount, up to £415,000, will be split evenly between the sending and receiving payment service providers.
This situation has raised concerns within the neobanking sector about the potential financial impact and has led to significant lobbying efforts to reduce the maximum reimbursement value to £30,000. Additionally, there has been a push to impose a “tech levy” on social media companies, where many of these scams originate.
In addition to Revolut’s challenges, Monzo and Starling have been identified as among the lowest-rated firms for reimbursing victims of authorized push payment fraud. The Payment Systems Regulator’s 2022 data revealed that these two challenger banks, known for their customer service, fell short compared to their larger competitors in compensating customers who were deceived into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts.