Australia’s financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC has fined Revolut Payments Australia A$187,800 (around US$121,500) for failing to meet mandatory deadlines for international funds transfer reporting under the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Act.
The lapse was self-reported by Revolut, which immediately corrected the issue and submitted the overdue reports. The company also upgraded its internal compliance systems to prevent future breaches. Despite the voluntary disclosure, AUSTRAC enforced the penalty to send a clear message that deadlines in financial crime compliance are non-negotiable.
AUSTRAC noted that remittance providers are particularly vulnerable to abuse by criminal networks due to the speed and low cost of transactions. Timely reporting is crucial because delays limit law enforcement’s ability to track and disrupt money laundering, terrorism financing, and other illicit activity.
This case aligns with AUSTRAC’s broader focus on the remittance sector, which was flagged as high risk in its 2024 national risk assessment. Regulators argue that late or incomplete reporting undermines the effectiveness of the entire AML framework by narrowing the window in which suspicious activity can be intercepted.
AUSTRAC Chief Executive Brendan Thomas emphasized that this enforcement action reinforces accountability across the industry. Even when companies self-disclose and cooperate fully, they remain responsible for ensuring reporting systems are accurate and timely.
For fintechs and compliance teams, the Revolut penalty delivers several lessons. First, timeliness is critical: missing regulatory deadlines will draw penalties regardless of intent. Second, firms must continuously invest in resilient systems and conduct quality checks to reduce operational risks. Third, trust in financial services hinges on strong compliance—failing here can damage both reputation and regulatory relationships.
The outcome underscores a wider regulatory trend: enforcement is intensifying not only for established banks but also for fast-growing fintechs. Revolut’s case illustrates that transparency and remediation are expected, but they do not eliminate liability. In financial crime compliance, precision and timing are everything.
