UK fintech Revolut has announced it is temporarily suspending part of a scheme to provide free accounts to Ukrainian refugees due to some customers exploiting the benefits.
Revolut launched the scheme in March to offer payment services and waive fees for those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
The initiative included a referral system wherein existing customers could refer up to five people to these accounts for £50 per person.
Revolut said this aspect of the scheme was being exploited by some customers.
“As part of our free accounts offer for Ukrainian refugees – which has onboarded tens of thousands of users in less than six weeks – our controls flagged that a small number of accounts were being targeted by users attempting to exploit our referral campaign,” a spokesperson from Revolut told UKTN.
“We have therefore temporarily paused the referral aspect as a precautionary measure.”
The scheme also saw Revolut simplify the documentation requirements for those displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Revolut co-founder and CTO, Vlad Yatsenko, who is Ukrainian, said at the announcement of the scheme: “With the war in Ukraine displacing more than two million people already, we felt it was imperative to help those most affected by providing a service that gives them easy, quick access to their money.”
Yatsenko said that the company was looking to provide a “simpler alternative” to bank transfers, which he described as “slow and expensive”.
Revolut’s half-Russian and half-Ukrainian CEO, Nikolay Storonsky, has staunchly opposed the war in Ukraine, which he described as “horrifying” in a blog post published earlier this year.
In the post, Storonsky said: “This war is wrong and totally abhorrent. I am horrified and appalled at its impact, and I add my voice to those around the world calling for an immediate end to the fighting, and a commitment to diplomatic solutions.”
The post Revolut halts Ukrainian refugee referrals after customer exploitation appeared first on UKTN | UK Tech News.
