How Revolut fucked its most loyal early adopters

It sounded like an offer from a libertarian’s dream bank: they promised to open accounts for just anybody, mail plastic cards around the world free of charge, and convert currencies using Forex rates +1% (after the fist 500 GBP)! And they did it! My friends around the world and myself were so excited! I wrote a blog post about them (in Russian), and got a call from their marketing guy saying they are ‘seeing a significant impact in registrations’. So far so good. But the best feature for me and my friends was the ability to do small transfers between friends. You know, when paying for coffee, or splitting a bill at a restaurant. Like PayPal, but (a) free, and (b) there was a plastic card that made it real — you could spend it right away or even get cash from an ATM.

Then the reality kicked in. First, they stopped allowing credit cards for top-up. Understandable — higher rates etc. Then they blocked almost all cards issued by Russian banks. It turned out that Russian banks were cheating, and using credit-card number codes even for debit cards. Also understandable. However, we managed to find at least two banks that were honest and their debit (euro) cards were indeed debit.

Then came new limitations. On ATM withdrawals. I understand that there is a charge. But we in fact know what the amount is: Mastercard charges 0.2%. That’s it. Why do these greedy bastards want a lot more?! Subsequently they lowered the free amount from 600 (which was at least more or less reasonable) to 200 per month.

Then came the final blow. Not residing in EU? You’re fucked! We will not do business with you, full stop. What’s more, they dropped all identity verifications that early adopters have passed in the very early stages. Not verified — so you can’t top-up, receive money and so on. And the verification? They actually request you to prove your immigration status!! It’s none of their fucking business! Proof of address, like a phone/electricity bill or indeed a bank statement will not do. Idiots. They say it’s because of their partner who in fact issues the plastic cards. Well, fuck them and their partner. Instead of finding a solution, they just kicked us out.

Dozens of my friends around the world have lost service (but not money). People from Israel, US, Russia, Eastern Europe, and Asia have all complained. But who cares.

Well, I made up my mind — not doing business with a company that shits on their early adopters. Good bye, Revolut, rot in hell.

My new choice: “black card” from n26.com