Revolut is introducing Wealth Protection, a new biometric identification feature designed to protect customers’ savings from pickpockets and phone snatchers.
This feature is being launched ahead of a busy summer season for travel and festivals, where consumers face a higher risk of phone theft.
Wealth Protection will be one of the first features of its kind, with Revolut customers typically holding 2.6 times more money in their savings accounts compared to their current accounts.
Revolut, the global FinTech with over 8 million UK customers and 40 million globally, announced that Wealth Protection will add an extra layer of in-app identity verification. This aims to prevent thieves from accessing customer savings within the Revolut app. The feature will help protect customers whose phones are stolen while unlocked or whose password and face recognition details are compromised.
Most banking apps rely on a single biometric authorisation, such as facial or fingerprint recognition, which can be easily exploited if a thief gains access to the device and changes the registered biometric data. Revolut’s Wealth Protection uses advanced facial technology to verify the user’s identity against the selfie ID checks completed when first signing up to Revolut. This significantly hampers fraudsters’ attempts to transfer money out of savings accounts, even if phone security has been compromised. The feature, which requires customers to opt-in, can be enabled for savings accounts.
Revolut is introducing this feature ahead of the summer travel and festival season to address the increased risk of theft at large-scale events and crowded tourist hotspots. Physical theft accounted for 38% of all unauthorised fraud losses in 2023, with pickpocketing incidents surging globally. In London, for instance, a phone is stolen every six minutes. Customers are also at risk of ‘shoulder-surfing,’ where fraudsters observe phone and banking-app passwords and then use this information to bypass security measures.
Revolut’s Head of Financial Crime, Woody Malouf, commented: “We take fraud and the financial loss incredibly seriously. With phone thefts on the rise, Wealth Protection has been built to counteract theft by providing our customers with that extra layer of security when you’re out and about this summer. Our customers will be able to rest easy knowing that even if their phone is lost or stolen, their hard earned savings are more secure.”
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