Revolut vs PayPal

Revolut collects broad categories of personal data including IDs, financial details, device data, location, contacts, biometrics, behavioral signals, and inferred profiles. This creates a detailed picture of your finances and app use.

Revolut may use automated systems, including AI, to open accounts, detect fraud, and lock, restrict, or close accounts. In practice, users may face sudden service interruptions pending review.

Revolut expressly says it will not sell your personal data. That is a meaningful privacy commitment compared with many consumer platforms.

Users can access, correct, delete, restrict, object, withdraw consent, and request transfer of certain data. Practical controls are available in-app or by email.

Personal data may be kept for long periods after the relationship ends, and some fraud-related records may be retained even longer. Deletion requests may therefore only be partially honored.

Revolut shares data within its group and with service providers, payment networks, credit agencies, partners, authorities, and payment counterparties. Some recipients of your payments will receive identifying details like your name and IBAN.

If you enter the wrong account details or pay the wrong person, Revolut generally is not responsible and only says it will try to help recover funds. Users bear much of the risk of payment mistakes.

If an automated decision significantly affects you, you can ask for manual review and challenge the result. This matters because account opening, fraud checks, restrictions, closures, and credit decisions may be automated.

If you cannot resolve a complaint with Revolut, you may escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This gives users an external dispute option beyond dealing only with the company.

You can download your payment and account information from the app while your account is active. That supports record-keeping and practical portability.

The terms say English law applies and court claims must be brought in England and Wales. That may make court action less convenient for some users, though it does not waive the right to complain to the Ombudsman.

Customer money is held as safeguarded e-money in segregated accounts or low-risk assets, which offers insolvency protection mechanics. But it is not covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Disputes generally must be handled through individual arbitration or small claims court, and class actions are waived. This makes it harder for users to sue collectively or in regular court.

PayPal may delay withdrawals, place holds, impose limits, or reserve funds for risk, disputes, or compliance reasons. This can interrupt access to money when you need it.

PayPal collects a very broad range of data, including financial, transaction, device, browsing, location, biometric, and inferred information. This creates a high level of profiling and surveillance risk.

PayPal can revise the agreement and continued use means acceptance. Users may have little practical choice but to accept changes or close the account.

Money held with PayPal is generally not a bank deposit and may not be FDIC-insured unless specific conditions apply. In many cases, your balance is just an unsecured claim against PayPal.

Personal information may be shared with affiliates, merchants, partners, ad-related parties, and other third parties, including for personalized shopping experiences unless you opt out. This expands the number of entities handling your data.

PayPal generally keeps personal data for the duration of the relationship plus 10 years after it ends. That is a long retention period for sensitive financial and identity information.

Automated decision-making may be used for fraud, money laundering, and credit risk, and can lead to denial, restriction, or termination of services. Users may be affected by opaque profiling decisions.

Users can request access, correction, deletion, copies of personal information, and some disclosure details, subject to identity verification and legal exceptions. This gives users more control than many financial services provide.

PayPal says it generally covers qualifying unauthorized activity if users report promptly and cooperate. This is a meaningful consumer protection for account misuse.

You can close your PayPal account at any time without a closure fee. That gives users a clear exit path, though existing obligations still remain.

PayPal offers an opt-out from disclosures to partners and merchants for personalized shopping experiences. This does not stop necessary transaction sharing, but it can reduce some marketing-related data use.