Why does Revolut restrict accounts?

At Revolut, our top priority is to keep your money safe. And this means we may, very rarely, need to restrict accounts. We only do this as a last resort to protect you from threats, follow relevant rules and regulations, and make sure your finances are secure.

We know it can be stressful and frustrating — whether it’s an unusual transaction while travelling or an online purchase that may put you at risk. 

If this happens to you, or someone you know, remember: we’re on your team — and we want to resolve the situation as quickly as possible so you can continue on with your day.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the experience, and go into detail on:

• The measures we take to keep your money safe
• The reasons we restrict accounts — including to prevent fraud
• How we look into account restrictions within a few hours
• How we do everything we can to unlock your account as quickly as possible

Our proactive, purpose-built defences and a team of fraud prevention specialists work side by side to offer 24/7 protection, flagging and investigating suspicious accounts and activity, helping to keep your account secure. It’s also how we’ve saved customers an estimated £632 million in potentially fraudulent transactions in 2024 alone.

Our team’s here to help you understand what restrictions mean, why they happen, and what to do.

Summary — what you need to know

For quick answers, check the summary below:

• What happens when your account is restricted? This means certain in-app features won’t be available to you and we may ask for additional information from you to restore full access. We also refer to restricting an account ‌as ‘blocking’ an account — this means the same thing.
• Why do we need to restrict accounts sometimes? We restrict accounts to follow rules, regulations, and laws that protect you and us from illegal activities like money laundering and terror financing.
• How long do restrictions typically last? We aim ‌to unblock restricted accounts within 3 hours of confirming all the information we need, but it may sometimes take longer if we have to work alongside third parties, such as other financial providers or regulators.
• What can I do to get restrictions lifted? The best way to get full access to your account back is to follow the in-app instructions, and provide all information requested in a timely manner. Doing so helps our teams complete the necessary checks.
• Can Revolut Support help me unblock my account? Our award-winning 24/7 customer support team’s here to help you in any way they can — in over 100 languages — but they can’t lift restrictions on your account.

Haven’t found what you were looking for? Read on.

What does it mean if a Revolut account is restricted?

When your account is restricted, it means you can’t do certain actions. For example, making transactions, sending and receiving transfers, or withdrawing money might be temporarily unavailable. This is a rare measure we take to prevent any unauthorised or potentially harmful activity within your account.

To break it down a bit, account restrictions mean:

Features are limited. While certain in-app features won’t be available, you’ll always have access to essential functions — like contacting our customer support team via chat, or uploading verification documents we need to check. The specific restrictions can vary case-to-case.

We’ll need to verify specific information. To restore full access to your account, we may sometimes ask for additional information or documents to verify your identity or certain transactions.

Why we sometimes restrict Revolut accounts

We know it's inconvenient and frustrating if you — or someone you know — is experiencing this. So the question is: why do we do it?

Well, giving you the financial services you deserve isn't just about creating features to help you do more with your money. It’s also about keeping you safe from financial crime, and being open about our security. Think of it like security at the airport. In rare cases, we may need to stop and take another look.

Below are a few reasons why your account might be blocked, and what we may need from you to unblock the account:

1. Your own financial safety

The fact is — your safety is our number one priority.

We try to stop fraud before it happens. If we see any high-risk transactions, we'll usually alert you, helping you spot scams and fraudsters. It’s one of the multiple measures we take before restricting your account.

Why might we restrict your account for your financial safety?

1. Our monitoring systems identified your account for review, and:

• found your account could be a potential victim of fraud
• has seen activity on your account that’s suspicious or irregular
• spotted a suspicious login, or out-of-the-ordinary transactions

After this, we might ask you to perform an authentication check, provide some additional information, or verify certain payments in-app. Your account may be restricted while we wait for you to complete this.

2. You’re using platforms like P2P crypto trading platforms, which can be exploited by fraudsters and criminals. Find out how to spot crypto scams and stay safe with peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.

2. Following laws and regulations

As a financial institution, we have to follow laws and regulations. On rare occasions, we have to restrict accounts to make sure we're following these laws. Law enforcement agencies might also ask us to restrict accounts. If this happens, we may need to do this with little or no information, which can be frustrating for you and us. Whatever the reason, we'll do our best to explain the situation. But, in some cases we may not be able to share all the details.

All regulated financial institutions must restrict or close accounts in certain circumstances. Whether digital or on the high street, we’re all bound by the same rules and must restrict accounts when the law requires us to.

Why might we restrict an account due to laws and regulations?

1. We're following Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations

• This law makes sure we flag anyone that looks like they’re using their Revolut account to launder money, or using it for any illegal activities
• To unblock your account, we'll ask you to confirm financial information or verify some of your transactions
• We've received a court order or a request from a relevant authority, like a tax authority or crime agency, for example, to freeze funds in your account

2. We're following Know Your Customer (KYC) rules

• KYC regulations mean we need to make sure you are who you say you are when you open an account with us — and also sometimes during transactions. This helps protect you from identity theft and fraud. So we may ask for your latest government-issued ID, or proof of address.
• To unblock your account, you'll just need to upload your most up-to-date identity documents
• As a licensed financial institution, we can't offer accounts to customers without a valid ID, and sometimes we're duty-bound to ask more questions

3. We suspect you're violating our terms and conditions or abusing our products based on your account activity.

What can I do if my account is restricted?

If you do find your Revolut account blocked or restricted, you should:

• Follow any steps or notifications in-app, like verifying your identity or confirming a piece of financial information
• If requested, upload documents with clear text and images, that are up to date and valid, and that prove your own identity
• Get documents for your recent transactions ready, so when we reach out to you, you'll have them to hand

Please remember: we restrict accounts to protect you and to follow regulations. Both help us all stay safe.

We aim ‌to unblock restricted accounts within 3 hours

If your account is temporarily restricted, we'll ask you to check or share information in-app so we can review your account activity. We always aim to lift restrictions within 3 hours after receiving all the info we need — 24/7, any time of day — so you're not left without access to your money for long.

We recommend doing the following to help us unblock your account:

Make sure you upload all the information we need in-app when we ask (we'll also email you with instructions on what to do).

We'll give you as much information as we can about why we've restricted your account and make sure your access is restored as soon as possible. Unless an authorised party (like a court) has told us, we'll never keep your funds frozen for any longer than needed to complete our review.

Why do some accounts take longer to review than others?

Account restrictions are uncommon — and each situation is unique. So sometimes, it can take slightly longer than we expect to complete our standard security checks for an account. This usually happens when we need to work with external partners to complete the review, which may cause a delay.

How you can help: while we can't promise to immediately reactivate your account, we handle each case carefully. Replying to our messages and providing the information we need in-app helps resolve any issues much faster. And remember, our team is doing everything we can, and we appreciate your patience.

Can the Revolut customer support team reactivate my account?

Our customer support team’s here to help you in any way they can — but they can’t lift restrictions on your account. The best way to get full access to your account back is to follow the in-app instructions and wait for our teams to verify the details you upload.

Why specific details aren’t shared: we can’t always tell you the exact reason your account is restricted. This is down to legal requirements or ongoing investigations — it’s how we make sure every incident is handled with care. We do ask you to be patient while we investigate your case.

What you can expect: as soon as we make sure your account and your money is safe and secure, we'll reactivate your account as quickly as possible.

Regulations that keep us all safe

We're here to change the way you money. This means everything related to money — including how we protect it, and how we handle threats to your (and our company’s) safety. Everyone deserves to use their Revolut account without worrying about scams or fraud. And everyone should ‌be able to use their account knowing their money is being looked after.

From keeping your data encrypted and having biometric security as standard on all accounts, to following regulations — it all helps protect us from the bad guys. While restrictions aren’t ideal, they help you stay protected and keep your money safe.

What can I do to keep my account secure?

Remember, account restrictions are our last resort. And we want it to happen as infrequently as possible. That’s why we’ve created an in-app security centre to put extra controls in your hands, and guard you against unsafe situations.

Most importantly, always pay close attention to all the warnings we send you in-app. Beyond that, here are 4 ways you can protect your finances from the unexpected:

1. Freeze and unfreeze your card in-app if you misplace it, to keep your money safe
2. Set limits on money leaving your account to protect it from unauthorised or unexpected transactions
3. Turn on Wealth Protection, which adds an extra layer of security with selfie verification on certain withdrawals
4. Use disposable virtual cards when shopping online to shield your main card details from unsafe sites. The details reset with every purchase.

Support is always available, 24/7

One thing every Revolut customer can rely on is access to our award-winning 24/7 customer support — even on a Sunday. Our multi-lingual support team's ready to talk through any issues you may have through our encrypted in-app chat — in over 100 languages.

You can usually expect a response within 2 minutes. We understand the urgency when you're talking about stressful and time-sensitive situations like having your Revolut account restricted.

For any questions about an existing account restriction, our support team's ready to give you all the help and direction you need. It’s all part of our commitment to protecting your money — we’re here to help.

For more information, please read our terms and conditions.