Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained to Revolut Ltd after falling victim to an investment scam in which he was tricked into exchanging £9,580 from his Revolut account into cryptocurrency and sending it to scammers. He made 14 exchanges between January and March 2025, with the highest individual exchange being £1,900, and Revolut did not ask any questions about these transactions. The ombudsman found that the exchanges were spread over two months without rapid escalation in frequency or value and were relatively low in value, such that they would not have appeared particularly unusual or suspicious to Revolut. Therefore, the ombudsman concluded that Revolut was not required to intervene proportionately and did not uphold Mr M's complaint for a refund.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the principle that while Revolut must act on authorised instructions, it should intervene if transactions appear unusual or suspicious. However, the exchanges here were spread over two months without rapid escalation, did not reach values that would typically trigger intervention, and were relatively low in the context of daily transactions Revolut processes. Therefore, Revolut would not reasonably have been expected to ask questions about the exchanges at the time they were made. Further investigation into the scam platform would not have been proportionate given Mr M had already checked the FCA's register.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website