Partially upheld: Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam - refund claim and fraud protection complaint against Revolut Ltd
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6069446 of 2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00. Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam - refund claim and fraud protection complaint against Revolut Ltd. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6069446 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Revolut Ltd |
| Product | Other regulated product |
| Claim type | Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam - refund claim and fraud protection |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Revolut Ltd must refund £35.01 to Miss S along with simple interest at 8% per annum from the date it paid her claim to the date of settlement. |
Summary
Miss S fell victim to a sophisticated job scam in September 2025 where she made total payments of £4,155 after being manipulated into believing she was participating in a legitimate video-watching job opportunity. She received £131 in fake 'earnings' before being pressured to make payments to release funds. Revolut refunded £5.40 after deducting a £100 excess under APP scam regulations, but Miss S complained that she should receive full reimbursement and that Revolut failed to protect her from fraud. The ombudsman upheld the complaint in part, finding that the credits should be apportioned proportionately across all payments, resulting in an additional £35.01 owed, but rejected the claim for cryptocurrency payments as Revolut's fraud warnings were proportionate and reasonable given the information available.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the first five Faster Payments fell within the scope of the Reimbursement Rules, which provide no-fault based protection for APP scam victims. While Revolut was entitled to apply a £100 excess, the credits Miss S received should be apportioned proportionately across all payments (3.15% of total) rather than only against the first five payments. This resulted in an outstanding loss of £140.41 from the first five payments. After deducting the £100 excess and the £5.40 already refunded, Miss S was owed £35.01. For the cryptocurrency payments, Revolut's intervention was proportionate and reasonable given the information available and Miss S's responses to the fraud detection questions. There was nothing unusual about the payment sizes or circumstances that should have alerted Revolut to a job scam specifically. Miss S was not found to be a vulnerable consumer in a way that materially affected her ability to protect herself from the scam.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Revolut Ltd, all decisions | 3,790 | 18% |
| Other regulated product, all decisions | 52,408 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website