The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has added cryptocurrency-enabled payment app Revolut to its list of companies authorized to offer crypto products and services in the country.
In an update on Monday to its list of UK-registered crypto asset companies, the FCA showed that Revolut complied with amended 2017 regulations on “money laundering, terrorist financing and funds transfer”. The fintech firm joined 37 other companies given the green light to offer crypto services in the country after receiving an extension to operate as a crypto asset firm with a temporary registration in March.
Companies offering cryptocurrency-related products and services in the UK can operate after registering with the FCA, a rule that has been in place since 2020. However, following a crackdown in the country against money laundering, or AML, and the fight against the financing of terrorism, or CFT, requirements Many companies, including Revolut, were granted temporary registration status, allowing them to operate while they appeared to await full compliance.
At the time of publication, there were still no crypto asset companies operating under the FCA’s temporary status. Revolut had been the last “withdrawal” of the 12 companies initially granted temporary registration in March.
A September 5 report in the Financial Times suggested that the UK’s Financial Reporting Council found flaws in an audit of Revolut, which included an “unacceptably high” risk of “material misstatement”. As of July 31, Revolut was valued as a $33 billion fintech company after an $800 million investment round.
Related: FCA highlights limited role as unregistered firms continue to operate
There has been major political change in the UK after Prime Minister Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson and the subsequent death of Queen Elizabeth II. The government announced on September 22 that lawmakers had introduced the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, legislation aimed at empowering the country’s National Crime Agency to “seize, freeze and recover” assets cryptographic However, Truss’ economic secretary Richard Fuller has also spoken of making the UK the “dominant global center for cryptographic technologies”.
