Following a spate of bad publicity, fintech unicorn Revolut has updated its terms and conditions and hired an advisor to former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as head of public affairs. Meanwhile, the company's former CFO, who recently left amidst money laundering control failure claims, has resurfaced at Money Dashboard.
Tommy Tudehope has joined Revolut to lead its lobbying work in its base of the UK, according to Financial News.
Tudehope acted as media advisor to Turnbull for five years until 2009 before resigning over claims he was involved in a spoof video comparing a rival to Hitler - claims he denied. He returned to Turnbull's office in 2017 as head of digital and social media.
His arrives at Revolut as the startup looks to leave a torrent of bad headlines behind it. Last week the FT reported that the Financial Ombudsman Service received 171 claims from UK customers against the firm between the beginning of 2015 and end of 2018.
While the figure is small compared to the number of complaints against high street banks, it is more than double that filed against rival Monzo.
One step taken to boost customer satisfaction is a rewriting of the company's terms and conditions. In an emoji-packed blog the firm seeks to once again differentiate itself from traditional banks, explaining how it has slashed the wordcount and ditched the jargon from its T&Cs.
As Revolut looks to reboot, its former CFO, Peter O’Higgins, has taken up the same position at PFM app Money Dashboard.
O'Higgens joined Revolut in 2016 after 12 years at JP Morgan but resigned early this year as the company faced claims of serious lapses in money laundering controls.
The Telegraph reported that for three months last year Revolut switched off an automated system designed to stop dubious money transfers. As a result, thousands of illegal transactions may have passed through the London-based startup's digital banking system.
However, Revolut strongly denied both that it had experienced lapses in its AML controls and that O'Higgens' departure was in any way related to the issue.
Money Dashboard CEO Steve Tiger says: "Peter was part of Revolut’s top team and saw the business grow from 200,000 to over 4.5 million users during his three-year tenure. Revolut’s CEO described Peter’s contribution as ‘absolutely pivotal to our success’. We’re excited to have Peter on board as we enter our next phase of growth."