Revolut vs Stripe
Side-by-side comparison of the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of Revolut and Stripe.
Revolut offers notable transparency, in-app controls, privacy rights, and external complaint avenues, but these are offset by broad data collection, long retention, extensive sharing, automated account decisions, and liability limits typical of regulated fintech services.
Revolut’s legal terms are fairly detailed and include meaningful user controls like data access, portability, deletion requests, complaint escalation to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and human review of significant automated decisions. At the same time, it collects extensive financial and device data, shares data broadly to run a regulated finance service, retains data for long periods, limits liability in many payment-error scenarios, and relies heavily on fraud/AML-related restrictions and automated decisioning.
Points of interest
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negative ●●●●○ privacyExtensive data collection
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.
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negative ●●●●○ privacyAutomated account restrictions
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.
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positive ●●●●○ privacyNo sale of personal data
Revolut expressly says it will not sell your personal data. That is a meaningful privacy commitment compared with many consumer platforms.
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positive ●●●●○ privacyStrong privacy rights
Users can access, correct, delete, restrict, object, withdraw consent, and request transfer of certain data. Practical controls are available in-app or by email.
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negative ●●●○○ privacyLong data retention
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.
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negative ●●●○○ privacyBroad data sharing
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.
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negative ●●●○○ termsLimited payment-error liability
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.
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positive ●●●○○ privacyHuman review of AI decisions
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.
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positive ●●●○○ termsOmbudsman complaint route
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.
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positive ●●●○○ termsDownload account history
You can download your payment and account information from the app while your account is active. That supports record-keeping and practical portability.
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negative ●●○○○ termsCourt venue fixed
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.
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neutral ●●○○○ termsFunds safeguarded, not FSCS
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.
Documents
Stripe offers useful transparency and some privacy rights, but the overall framework is protective of Stripe: mandatory arbitration, class action waiver, broad disclaimers, liability cap, unilateral service changes, broad content licenses, extensive data use/sharing, and strong fee/debit collection rights.
Stripe’s legal posture is business-focused rather than consumer-focused. Its terms impose arbitration, broad liability limits, fee collection rights, and wide suspension/termination powers, while its privacy policy is relatively transparent about extensive data collection, sharing, international transfers, and available privacy rights, including access, deletion, and portability in some regions.
Points of interest
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negative ●●●●● termsMandatory arbitration waiver
Disputes are generally forced into individual binding arbitration, and class actions are waived in many regions. This can make it harder and less economical to pursue claims against Stripe.
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negative ●●●●○ termsLiability heavily limited
Stripe provides services "as is," disclaims many warranties, excludes indirect damages, and usually caps liability at the fees paid in the prior 12 months. If Stripe causes harm, recovery may be very limited.
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negative ●●●●○ termsBroad termination rights
Stripe can suspend or terminate access quickly for legal, risk, fraud, security, or even information-update issues, and may terminate for convenience. Businesses could lose access with limited practical recourse.
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negative ●●●●○ termsCan debit without notice
Stripe may deduct amounts owed from balances, payment methods, reserves, and linked bank accounts, and the debit authorization can continue until all amounts are paid. This gives Stripe strong self-help collection powers.
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positive ●●●●○ privacyPrivacy rights available
Depending on location, users may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, transfer, object, and withdraw consent. These are meaningful privacy protections, especially where local law grants them.
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negative ●●●○○ termsBroad content license
If you provide content or feedback, Stripe gets a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use it, including to improve services and for internal business purposes. That license survives and is hard to revoke.
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negative ●●●○○ termsService changes allowed
Stripe can modify or discontinue services and features, with notice only in some cases. This means product capabilities you rely on may change or disappear during the relationship.
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negative ●●●○○ privacyExtensive data sharing
Stripe shares personal data with merchants, financial partners, service providers, affiliates, authorized third parties, and authorities. For many users, data will circulate across a broad payments ecosystem.
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negative ●●●○○ privacyAdvertising and tracking
Stripe uses cookies, analytics, and advertising partners to personalize content, measure engagement, and market services, subject to applicable consent rules. This means website and service interactions may contribute to targeted advertising.
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positive ●●●○○ privacyBiometric consent withdrawal
For identity verification improvements using biometric data, Stripe says separate consent is required and can be withdrawn at any time. That gives users some control over especially sensitive data use.
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neutral ●●○○○ privacyLong retention flexibility
Stripe keeps personal data as long as needed for services, legal and financial obligations, and fraud prevention, rather than promising short deletion timelines. In finance, this may be expected, but it means data can persist for a long time.
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positive ●●○○○ termsPost-termination retention limited
Stripe says it is generally not obligated to retain user-provided data after the agreement ends except where law or specific obligations require it. That is better than an open-ended promise to keep data forever.
Documents
Comparison is based on each service's published Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Read the source documents linked above before relying on any specific clause.