Revolut has blasted recent measures from Meta to tackle digital fraud as ‘baby steps’ as the fintech demands social media firms be made liable to reimburse victims. 

Responding to the expanded partnership between Meta and UK banks, announced this week, Revolut has argued that financial institutions are unfairly being given the responsibility to refund fraud victims. 

“These plans are baby steps, when what the industry really needs is giant leaps forward,” said Revolut’s head of financial crime Woody Malouf. 

“Social media platforms not only continue to enable fraud, but…the issue is just as bad today as it was last year.” 

Malouf said the cost of fraud is entirely borne by the victims and financial institutions, with no adequate incentives for social media companies to act. 

Revolut has therefore called for “Meta and other social media companies to commit to supporting victims of fraud” to the same degree as financial firms. 

“Their silence on this issue says it all.” 

UKTN has contacted Meta for comment. 

On Wednesday, Meta said its Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) programme was being extended following a six-month pilot.  

The scheme has participating British banks provide the social media titan with intelligence relating to fraud victims to support its efforts to prevent financial crime on its platforms like Facebook and Instagram. 

As per the partnership, banks including NatWest and Metro share confirmed instances of fraud with Meta, which can track the origin of it to evaluate how it avoided its existing protection measures. 

Social media is one of the most common ways in which scammers trick victims into parting with their cash. 

Revolut, the UK’s largest fintech company, said in the first half of the year, 62% of scams reported to it came from Meta platforms, most commonly Facebook. 

According to Revolut, Facebook accounted for 45% of scam cases in the UK in the first half of 2024. 

Founded in 2015, Revolut – recently valued at $45bn – has been strengthening its anti-fraud measures as it prepares to operate with a full UK banking licence. 

Its financial crime team now represents over a third of its workforce of more than 10,000 people. 

Last month the company adjusted its terms and conditions, clarifying it no longer needs “good reason” to close customer accounts. 

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