On September 1, Revolut announced to its customer through email that as of October 3, 2022, it will change its fees for “buying and selling crypto from 2.50% to 1.99% or EUR 0.99, whichever is higher.” The drop in crypto trading prices represents a decrease of 20.4%; whether this is due to the volatility in the crypto market remains to be seen as, despite the vast correction that occurred in 2022, the bank has reported a customer interest in acquiring knowledge about cryptocurrencies. Indeed, Revolut announced in August that its crypto learning platform has attracted about 1.5 million users a month after launching. The ‘Learn & Earn’ learners have utilized the platform from at least 32 countries globally.
Revolut’s Japan subsidiary ordered to improve of AML measures
Elsewhere, outside of Europe, Revolut Technologies Japan, Inc., the Japanese branch of the London-based financial technology company, was served with a business improvement order on September 2 by the Kanto Local Finance Bureau in Japan. The order came after the Financial Services Agency (FSA) conducted an on-site inspection of the company, finding “serious problems” in the firm’s “control environments for governance, management of outsourced contractors, and money laundering and terrorist financing risk management.” The regulator went on to say that Revolut’s Japanese subsidiary failed to entirely create sufficient governance for offering funds transfer services properly and consistently. Furthermore, the Japanese branch did not correctly and consistently examine the core services, such as money transfer services, that it outsourced to its London-based parent. Moreover, Revolut Japan did not implement adequate checks on money laundering and terrorism financing risk management and lacked a robust transaction verification mechanism and no guidelines for detecting questionable transactions.
Revolut needs to address the issues
The Japanese regulator issued Revolut Japan a series of business improvement directives to address the difficulties. The organization must create a regulated environment to guarantee adequate governance, legal compliance, supervision of outsourced contractors, and risk management for money laundering and terrorist funding. In addition, the Japanese company must submit a business improvement plan to the regulator by October 3, detailing the exact steps it would take in response to the order and implementing them immediately after submission. Lastly, the firm has been compelled to report quarterly to the regulator on its progress and implementation status until all essential implementations are completed.
