Revolut left red faced after ‘single shaming’ ad campaign

FinTech firm, Revolut, has admitted that it made up statistics for a recent controversial ad campaign. The Financial Conduct Authority, meanwhile, has passed on several complaints about the ads to the Advertising Standards Authority.

Revolut had claimed that more than 11,000 customers bought a vegan sausage roll in the past month, and that on last Valentine’s Day last year, 12,750 customers ordered a takeaway meal for one.

However, it is impossible for Revolut to know this; it only gets access to the merchant info and value of an individual transaction. The FT said that when it challenged the company, Revolut’s media spokesperson confirmed the aforementioned numbers were “just made up…It’s a fair point. We should have had a line in the ad saying this is a spoof”.

Iona Bain, a personal finance blogger who slammed Revolut on Twitter for single shaming with its Valentine’s Day ad, commented: “I’m glad the FCA is investigating how people’s very personal data is used.”