Revolut closes two Irish firms after dropping e-money licence plan

Revolut has moved to strike two of its Irish entities off the register of companies after dropping plans to use an Irish e-money licence issued by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The fintech applied to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) last November to have two companies – Revolut Payments Ireland and Revolut Holdings Europe – struck off the register “on the grounds that they had ceased to carry on business”, according to filings.

Both entities were formally struck off this week.

A spokesman for Revolut said the move related to its decision, announced last year, to jettison plans to use the Irish e-money licence that it had been granted by the Central Bank. Instead, the London-headquartered company said it intended to use a full banking licence issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) to offer services – including personal loans – to Irish customers rather than the one approved by the Irish regulator.

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The spokesman at the time denied suggestions the move was linked to company frustrations with the Central Bank’s approach to regulation. However, he confirmed that the decision would lead to a small number of job losses at the company’s Irish operation.

Asked for comment on Tuesday, a spokesman said that the company’s Irish headcount has grown year-on-year from around 110 in 2021 to roughly 130 towards the end of last year.

[ Anatomy of a Revolut scam: Peter watched helplessly as thousands drained from his account ]

“As was widely reported at the time, in February 2022, Revolut decided to serve its Irish customers using its new European full banking licence, rather than via the Irish e-money licence which had just been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland,” the spokesman said in a statement. “This meant we were able to offer customers in Ireland new credit products, including personal loans, as well as a bank account backed by a deposit guarantee scheme.”

Separately, The Irish Times reported last week that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is said to be dealing with an increase in the number of complaints related to Revolut and a phishing scam in which Irish customers are being tricked into divulging their pin codes. Money is then fraudulently removed from their accounts and placed into a separate crypto account, which cannot be traced.

Revolut’s Irish operation is registered in Lithuania, making it impossible for the FSPO to bring a case against Revolut. However, the digital bank is set to issue local Irish ibans from March after customers reported problems getting utilities and others to accept the Lithuanian ibans.

Aaron Elliott-Gross, Revolut’s head of financial crime and fraud, said last week that new scams were popping up all the time.

“These text messages can appear genuine and often come from an existing business number. They can even appear within existing message threads,” he said.