Revolut slammed by bridging broker who now faces a £30,000 black hole

A mortgage broker specialising in bridging finance has admitted being at his wits end after e-bank Revolut locked him out of his business bank account, leaving his firm with a £30,000 black hole.

Earlier this month, Revolut told Adam Stiles it was closing his account with no warning, for wrongly assuming his firm was high risk.

Adam Stiles is managing director of Helix Financial Partners, a London-based broker that was set up four years ago. 

He has been banking with Revolut, a branchless bank, which only got its full UK banking licence in July 2024, for three years.

Adam said he was contacted by Revolut a couple of weeks ago asking for documents. “I sent them our trade association membership.”

He was also asked if his company held any client funds in the account. “I explained that we did not.

“But then was then just told ‘We are closing your account’. 

Adam used the bank’s app messaging service only to be told that his business was on a list of businesses Revolut did not support.

Helix specialises in bridging mortgages, which tend to be taken out by businesses used to develop property, some of these loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

“But when I checked the link they gave me about non-supported firms, which didn’t work at first, I found my business type wasn’t on the list.”

When he pushed Revolut further they then told him it was because he held client funds.

“I had made it unequivocally clear it does not, but despite this they basically said tough luck and nothing they can do. 

“There was no means of appeal, just a decision made. 

“They wouldn't put me through to anyone to complain to or discuss this with.”

Adam now has until 6th October to remove all funds. “This isn't ideal but what’s really bad, is they won't accept any payments — zero notice given. “I have lenders - so large banks  - who want to pay me and I have no means of accepting payment. And I can’t make any payments myself.

“We can move the money out but we have nowhere to move them to unless we take them personally but that will mean we have to pay personal tax on that. 

“We can't receive funds which is the issue and were given zero notice nor was this communicated until we asked. 

“We have at least £30k in payments due. We have had to ask the invoices to hold fire until we open a new bank account which is no mean feat these days and takes absolutely ages.

Adam said he had decided to bank with Revolut because they appeared to be a competent challenger bank with a different offering for businesses like his.

"Now It absolutely staggers me how Revolut got a banking licence. They're often the butt of jokes in our industry so this sort of behaviour doesn't surprise me. This behaviour has no place at all in the UK, or anywhere for that matter. 

“Revoking the ability to receive payments with no notice or means for recourse can have a devastating impact on a business and a very real impact on people's lives. Revolut - you're a disgrace."

Tony Redondo, founder at Newquay-based Cosmos Currency Exchange claimed Revolut may have been trying to impress regulators by cracking down on customers: “Its strict policies mimic quasi-regulatory overreach, possibly to satisfy regulators."

Revolut is a branchless bank with around 10 million customers, all transactions and account management are conducted online via the Revolut app.

Because it remains in a "mobilisation" period, money is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Mark Hosker, mortgage adviser at Bradford-based Cyborg Finance said Adam’s experience was a classic example of how government overregulation ends up hurting good small businesses.

“Revolut is actually better in that it does open accounts for regulated financial services companies. 

“For a sense of where they could have drawn the line, just look at Starling Bank, which explicitly prohibits "businesses carrying out financial services" — despite owning Fleet Mortgages, a lender that exclusively works with financial services businesses. I don't blame the smaller banks for being cautious; the real blame lies with Westminster and the regulators.”

Revolut denied it had acted wrongly.

A spokesperson for the bank said: "The customer was informed on 5th August that Revolut Business no longer supports businesses in this industry. The account is currently still active, and the customer has been given a clear timeline for offboarding. 

“Revolut Business requires businesses in this industry to be regulated by the FCA and PRA. Given this is an unregulated loan business,  Revolut Business is not currently able to support.”

A Starling spokesperson said: “Starling supports half a million small businesses and sole traders in the UK from a range of different sectors. Some financial services providers are beyond the bank’s risk appetite and are currently not eligible to open a business account with us. We keep our eligibility criteria under review and include details on our criteria on our website.”

They added:  “Fleet Mortgages is a specialist buy to let mortgage provider and Starling does onboard landlords and businesses in the property sector.”