Do Swiss customers at Revolut really receive a personal, individual Swiss IBAN? The company responds to finews.com.
Last Wednesday, finews.com published an article about the ongoing efforts of Revolut to migrate existing Swiss customers from the British Revolut Ltd. to the Lithuanian Revolut Bank UAB. Revolut informed its customers that this migration includes a «personal Swiss IBAN,» which is newly provided by PostFinance.
Following this, the editorial team received reports suggesting that the promise of a «personal IBAN» might not be entirely accurate.
Criticism in Online Forums
On the online forum «Reddit», several users accused Revolut of misleading its customers. One user claimed to have completed the migration of their account to the Lithuanian entity, stating that it «is now run through Revolut Bank UAB (their Lithuanian entity).» The provided Swiss IBAN «is provided by PostFinance and the beneficiary is Revolut Bank UAB.»
Anyone wishing to transfer funds must specify «First Name Last Name, CH» in the payment reference – «just as before».
Revolut’s Response
In response to an inquiry from finews.com, a Revolut spokesman wrote: «Swiss new customers, as well as existing customers who have migrated to our European entity, receive individual IBANs. Unlike before, these IBANs are no longer standardized but are instead unique and personally assigned.»
The company encourages customers to switch from Revolut Ltd. to Revolut Bank UAB with the goal of offering them «greater financial freedom and expanded investment opportunities.» It highlights flexible accounts with money market fund investments, its in-house robo-advisor, and securities trading, as well as «our recently introduced commission-free ETF savings plans».
The Misunderstanding
Revolut regrets that its recent customer communication has led to «misunderstandings.» The core issue is that while Swiss IBANs are assigned individually to each customer, the beneficiary must be Revolut Bank UAB, and the customer's name must be included in the payment reference. This setup represents an «interim step» toward a fully-fledged Swiss IBAN that could, for example, be used for salary transfers within Switzerland.
Existing customers of British Revolut Ltd. currently receive payments via a pooled account at Credit Suisse. In its customer communication, Revolut has announced the impending discontinuation of this arrangement.
Further Expansion Planned
However, there is no immediate urgency to switch from Revolut Ltd. to Revolut Bank UAB: «There is currently no set deadline. However, we are confident that the majority of our customers will soon take advantage of the improved offering in Switzerland and opt for the migration.»
With over 900,000 Swiss customers, the company sees itself as a «leading provider of digital financial services in Switzerland.» Further expansion of its offerings is planned.
