Revolut hires advisers amidst governance issues

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Daniel Webber
Daniel Webber
Founder & CEO
Daniel is Founder and CEO and has 20 years of experience in the international finance world focusing on cross-border payments, technology and the property sectors. Daniel is widely quoted as an expert… Read more
  • The fintech recently hired Standard Life Aberdeen’s Martin Gilbert, Silicon Valley Bank veteran Bruce Wallace and Deloitte’s Caroline Britton
  • The new hires will focus on helping Revolut bolster its regulatory compliance as well as help in its governance efforts
  • Revolut reported suspected money laundering incidents in 2018 and has faced a number of other problems

 

One of the world’s fastest growing fintechs has hired new advisers amidst issues regarding governance and regulatory compliance. Revolut rose to popularity in recent years because consumers can transfer money internationally through its app at inexpensive overseas transfer rates. While it has proven to be quite successful and gained the trust of millions of users, it is now in hot water, reports say. This prompted Nikolay Storonsky, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer, to hire advisers immediately.

Revolut recently appointed Martin Gilbert as a non-executive adviser, according to reports. Gilbert is currently a Co-Chief Executive Officer at Standard Life Aberdeen. Revolut also announced several new hires, according to a Fintech Futures report. Revolut’s Storonsky said that the newly hired finance experts will help the company boost regulatory compliance as well as aid in its governance efforts.

Bruce Wallace, the former Chief Operations Officer at Silicon Valley Bank just joined the team, reports note. Caroline Britton, a Deloitte veteran has also taken the position of board member at Revolut. Both Wallace and Britton were hired as non-executive directors. In an announcement on Sunday, Revolut executives told reporters that Wallace will head the firm’s risk and compliance committee. Britton, on the other hand, will be the new chairperson for Revolut’s audit committee.

Gilbert will be working with Storonsky as an adviser. According to Revolut, Britton and Wallace were advisers of the firm’s CEO prior to joining the board.

News about the new hires were announced after Revolut experienced a difficult start this year. Reports from February say that the London-based fintech could not cope with its rapid growth. The activities of the company were examined by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority in recent weeks. To makes things worse, politicians in Lithuania, where Revolut got its banking license, are also scrutinising the fintech.

While its payments processing methods were looked at due to suspected money laundering incidents that the company reported to authorities, critics also came out with accusations that Revolut has unhealthy working practices with some of its employees not receiving wages for work rendered.

The company reiterated on Sunday that it began looking for advisers and new directors in 2018, noting that it has taken immediate action to solve its issues before recent criticisms came out.

“The decision to make these appointments and executive hires was not made lightly and followed an extensive period of search for the right mix of technical and financial expertise”, Storonsky said.

Difficulties came about when the company applied for a British banking license. Insiders note that it was questioned regarding its security measures to fight illicit money transfers. The company had already hired a new financial crime risk head, and reports note that they are working on ensuring that the system complies with all regulatory standards.

Its compliance systems took a beating from regulators when the company ran into a series of hiccups with its upgrade. The company confirmed to the media that it also suffered from a number of staff turnovers in its senior compliance positions.
 


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