Revolut Australia Fined $123k for Late Compliance Reporting

Australia’s financial crimes agency, AUSTRAC, has fined the local arm of British fintech giant Revolut AU$187,800 (almost US$123,000) for the late submission of compliance reports.

A Proper Handling of Late Reporting?

Announced today (Tuesday), Revolut self-disclosed failures to submit international funds transfer instructions within the timeframe required under local anti-money laundering laws.

“Revolut has been cooperative with AUSTRAC and paid the infringement notice in full,” said AUSTRAC’s CEO, Brendan Thomas, noting that Revolut identified the issue and took prompt steps to submit its reports and strengthen its controls.

“These are the real-life consequences of failures to report, and it’s why failures need to have regulatory consequences, even where reporting entities detect, disclose and report the breaches.”

Revolut’s Australian Dream

Revolut primarily offers remittance services under its Australian unit. The British fintech entered Australia in 2019 when it opened its Melbourne office.

The Australian CEO of Revolut earlier revealed that the fintech was considering applying for a banking licence in the country. However, those plans may have been shelved, as no updates have been provided since.

Founded in 2015, Revolut first emerged as a challenger bank and was granted a UK banking licence last year after a three-year delay. In the EU, it operates under a Lithuanian licence.

The company has also secured a banking licence in Mexico and is seeking one in New Zealand. In addition, it has pledged to invest over €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) in France, where it intends to apply for a banking licence.

“Remittance services are attractive to money launderers and other types of criminals because they can move funds cheaply and quickly across borders,” Thomas added. “We take late reporting seriously because timely reports are critical to help us detect and disrupt financial crime – to strike while the iron is hot.”

AUSTRAC’s Priorities

AUSTRAC has also tightened regulations on payment platforms in 2024.

“The risks in this sector are high and they are consistent,” said AUSTRAC’s CEO.

Earlier this year, AUSTRAC announced that it had taken action against 13 remittance and digital currency exchange providers while investigating more than 50 other such firms.

Meanwhile, the agency recently raised serious concerns about the local arm of Binance’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) controls and ordered the company to appoint an external auditor.