Revolut is cutting crypto trading fees by 20% starting October 2022
In recent months, challenger bank Revolut has gained regulatory authorization to offer cryptocurrency services to its 17 million customers in Europe, announcing that the bank has ambitions to expand its crypto workforce on the continent.
On September 1, Revolut announced to its customer via email that starting October 3, 2022, they will change the fees for “buying and selling crypto from 2.50% to 1.99% or EUR 0.99, whichever which is highest.”
The fall in crypto trading prices represents a decrease of 20.4%; whether this is due to the volatility of the crypto market remains to be seen as, despite the major correction that occurred in 2022, the bank has reported customer interest in acquiring knowledge about cryptocurrencies.
In fact, Revolut announced in August that its crypto learning platform has attracted around 1.5 million users a month after launch. The ‘Learn and earn’ students have used the platform from at least 32 countries globally.
Revolut’s Japanese subsidiary ordered to improve AML measures
Elsewhere, outside of Europe, Revolut Technologies Japan, Inc., the Japanese arm 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) carried out an on-site inspection of the company, finding “serious problems” in the firm’s “control environments for governance, management of outsourced contractors and risk management for money laundering and terrorist financing.”
The regulator went on to say that Revolut’s Japanese subsidiary failed to create sufficient governance to provide transfer services properly and consistently. Furthermore, the Japanese division did not properly and consistently investigate the core services, such as money transfer services, which it outsourced to its London-based parent.
Moreover, Revolut Japan did not implement adequate money laundering and terrorist financing risk management controls and lacked a robust transaction verification mechanism and no guidelines for detecting suspicious transactions.
Revolut must address the issues
The Japanese regulator issued Revolut Japan a series of business improvement directives to address the issues. 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 financing.
In addition, the Japanese company must submit a business improvement plan to the regulator by October 3, detailing the exact steps it will take in response to the order and implement them immediately after submission.
Finally, the firm has been forced to report quarterly to the regulator on the progress and implementation status of all key implementations completed.
