A CORK MEP said Revolut must accept that Irish customers have high expectations that must be met including protection from fraud.

Billy Kelleher, a member of the European Parliament’s powerful Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee, was commenting after yet another media report about an Irish Revolut customer being refused compensation following fraud on their account.

‘For many years I have been criticising the lack of competition in the Irish banking market and so I am happy to see Revolut step in and provide new, innovative and digital services in the Irish payments space,’ he said.

Ireland is one of the few countries that still does not have its own domestic payment system - meaning payments between customers can take some time and the process can be clunky. Although, the introduction of instant payment requirements on banks this year has improved the situation.

‘Having a Revolut account, or similar payments provider, is a way to avoid delays when sending or receiving payments and so it is no wonder it became popular in Ireland,’ said the Fianna Fáil MEP. ‘The digital first approach, ability to exchange money at competitive rates, and the dynamic user interface are all attractive features, especially to younger generations.’

‘All EU citizens should be subject to the same level of protection and, most certainly, new entrants into the Irish payments space should not be allowed to undermine the robustness and integrity of consumer protections we have come to expect in Ireland.’

New legislation which offers more robust protections to bank customers in the event of fraud on their account will not be enacted until 2027 and Mr Kelleher called on Revolut and other payment providers in the interim to introduce updated fraud reimbursement processes. He described the measure as a ‘litmus’ test for the Lithuania-based bank.