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Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

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Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#81

Post by rcruzeiro »

bad_user wrote: post #21
fauria wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you provide links or any other kind of source for these statements? Customers would be mostly concerned about the fifth one, probably: Many people have had their accounts frozen or even money stolen .

Revolut started blocking accounts with transactions going over some limit, demanding proof for the source of that money, to prevent money laundering. Happened to me, their response was slow, had my account unfrozen in a week or two. I've never heard claims of money being stolen though, might be hyperbole.

I had the "please tell us where your money comes from" message and my app continued working just fine (I use Revolut for all my personal transactions). Once I sent them a copy of my bank statement and some invoices between my company and me, they restored full access to my account super quickly.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#82

Post by khweroii »

luckylion wrote: post #37
bad_user wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Revolut started blocking accounts with transactions going over some limit, demanding proof for the source of that money, to prevent money laundering. Happened to me, their response was slow, had my account unfrozen in a week or two. I've never heard claims of money being stolen though, might be hyperbole.

Did they give any explanation as to why they think that's legal, freezing accounts and blocking payments on a whim, without some court's decision?

AML/KYC laws require you to freeze accounts if you suspect anything.

Traditional banks blocked my transfers a few times and required proof of source.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#83

Post by valdiorn »

balola wrote: post #47
jotm wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, big banks like HSBC and Barclays also do this. Plenty of horror stories around. There needs to be a law so they could at least notify people a month or two beforehand and provide a reason...

I believe there is a law allowing them not to provide any reason.

*requiring

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#84

Post by khweroii »

thesimon wrote: post #6

Quite impressed with the valuation. Transferwise Borderless seems to have a better business model with sane prices and not "everything free". And Revolut still uses their e-money license instead of their proper Lithuanian banking license. Quite surprising.

I actually moved from TransferWise to Revolut, because Revolut has somewhat better FX rates (TransferWise rates are also good).

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#85

Post by khweroii »

GeneralTspoon wrote: post #58
hkjlhoiuwer wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are very convenient though. And they have the best FX rates for those who care. I only keep a minimum amount on Revolut (<$200), and only top up as needed. This way I don't particularly care if my money gets lost.

Monzo/Starling/TransferWise all have as good an FX rate last time I checked.

Yes, but Revolut edges them out (2 pip vs 20+ pip spread). When you convert $30k like I did, I got an extra $100 or so, which payed for one year of Revolut Premium - so I basically got Premium for free.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#86

Post by CaptainZapp »

throwaway9d0291 wrote: post #61
sschueller wrote: post #4

Revolut is predatory and walking on the line of legality. I would stay as far away as I can from them. - Unfair/illegal employment practices. [1] - Dubios crypto service (you can buy and sell but there is no way to transfer in or out) [2] - Keeping a firewall between customers and company by only allowing communication via app chatbot [3] - Accusations of money laundry. [4] - Many people have had their accounts froze…

Please don't list things like this without making at least a 10-second effort to provide sources, it makes it very difficult to engage. > Unfair/illegal employment practices. Source? Elaboration? Best I could find is [0] which certainly looks bad but I can't find any references to court cases or employment authorities cracking down (and the UK has pretty decent worker protection). > Dubios crypto service (you can buy…

> and the UK has pretty decent worker protection

Really? What about zero-hour contracts? I don't know of any other rich country, which allows such scam contracts. I wouldn't call that decent worker protection.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#87

Post by KptMarchewa »

bad_user wrote: post #45
wh1t3n01s3 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While those things could be true, as a N26 and Revolut free customer, I have to say that yes, they use customer service chat bots, but when you ask for humans, their assistance to me was always good, quick, and solved my issues.

I was on Premium when my account was frozen ;-) And I did ask for humans, on 3 separate days, as I said, took about 10 days to get a reply.

You're not talking to support when your account gets locked, you're talking to compliance. And it takes time due to same reason Monzo has talked about:

https://monzo.com/blog/2019/10/18/watchdog-response

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#88

Post by peteretep »

lawn wrote: post #54
peteretep wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s dubious about their crypto service? They’re offering a way to give yourself simple exposure to crypto without a wallet. As the primary use of crypto right now is speculation, seems ideal.

That you're not actually buying cryptocurrencies with it. It's just an IOU from Revolut, with very dubious protection. With the unregulated part of crypto I would bet you'd have absolutely zero protection if Revolut went out of business or just closed your account for some unknown reason.

That’s true of any deposit with Revolut as they’re not a bank — as I understand it anyway. It’s as true of Euros or USD as it is for Bitcoin. They’re done as a business the first time they lose customer money though, and that feels like a reasonable hedge.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#89

Post by KptMarchewa »

randunel wrote: post #35
fauria wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you provide links or any other kind of source for these statements? Customers would be mostly concerned about the fifth one, probably: Many people have had their accounts frozen or even money stolen .

Revolut also block the accounts of members of a certain political party ("PSD") in Romania, "blocking" (stealing) their money, but only if customers admit to being a socialist party member. Here's a screenshot with the questions https://universul.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/revolut-psd... Transcripted from the Revolut app: Have you ever held any of the following positions? Select all that apply - Member - Speciali…

That's due to PEP regulations.

Re: Revolut raises $500M at a $5.5B valuation

#90

Post by KptMarchewa »

committed wrote: post #26
rcMgD2BwE72F wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sources?

Revolut has quite a big customer base in Lithuania and recently many articles have been published about people having their accounts frozen without notice. Article in Lithuanian: https://www.delfi.lt/verslas/mano-eurai/revolut-klientai-pra...

Freezing without notice is exactly the point of money laundering laws.

https://monzo.com/blog/2019/10/18/watchdog-response

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