Why the age restriction of 18 years old?

Why does Revolut have a minimum age of 18 years old?

Prepaid cards usually don’t have an age limit, because unlike credit cards, they’re not a means of borrowing but a means of payment.

I would love to give my Revolut card to my daughter. It would teach her about exchange rates when she travels, allow her to hold euro before her next trip, and she could even change small amounts back and forth to understand P&L on FX trades. It seems such a shame that a minimum age has been imposed on a prepaid card.

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@anon33247966 - any chance you could answer this question?

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Hi @NFH,

Unfortunately that’s Revolut Policy. In order to open a Revolut account you need to be a minimum of 18 years old.

@anon33247966 - You’ve answered a different question about whether this is Revolut’s policy. My question is:

Why does Revolut have a minimum age of 18 years old? What is the rationale for this policy? Why was 18 chosen as the minimum age rather than for example 12 (like Spotify), 13 (like Facebook) or 21 (like hiring a car)? 18 is a very odd choice of age for a non-credit product.

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18 is the age of majority in the UK and the EEA and according to Mastercard Rule

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@anon33247966 - What is the relevance of the age of majority to a deposit/spend product? What is the “MasterCard Rule”, to which you refer? This is not listed in MasterCard’s rules, and therefore other card issuers do issue prepaid MasterCards to under-18s.

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Just to clarify many Rev features are mainly banking-esque, and the legal requirement in the UK and EU requires a minimum age of 18yo

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@anon33247966 - You seem to be making up reasons with each post. These kinds of responses are reputationally-damaging to Revolut, as they indicate an amateur approach. Which “legal requirement” stipulates a minimum age of 18 for bank accounts in the UK or EU? Under-18s can have bank accounts, both de facto and de jure. Several UK banks offer current accounts specifically for 11 years old and over. Instead of fabricating a so-called “MasterCard Rule” and non-existent legislation, please could you enlighten us with Revolut’s real reason for this restriction?

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Im really sorry to hear that. I have clarified this with our compliance team in order to provide the most accurate answer to your question.

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@anon33247966 - Any chance you could answer the remainder of my last post?

Which “legal requirement” stipulates a minimum age of 18 for bank accounts in the UK or EU? Under-18s can have bank accounts, both de facto and de jure. Several UK banks offer current accounts specifically for 11 years old and over. Please could you enlighten us with Revolut’s real reason for this restriction?

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Under 16 only with parental authority, not sure how :r: could do this.

and checked with my bank - no current account for under 18 so seems to be a quite normal restriction.

Hey @NFH, it is not just about having an account, it’s also about opening one without needing parents to sign the contract. In most European countries, legal contract age is 18.

In the US, as far as I know, the legal age seems to be the age of majority in most states. I don’t think there’s much of a difference here at all.

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I am 100% with @NFH here, 2 years later and nothing seems to have changed. I have 3 (17, 16 & 14) who ALL have their own bank accounts with Debit Cards. I WANT them to all have a Revolut card but this ridiculous 18+ restriction is still in place … I too would like to know why they, WITH MY PERMISSION AND BLESSING, are not permitted Revolut cards ?!?

@anon33247966

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I believe they just kept it simple. Verification process and alignment of T&Cs with all the services that can be bought from within the app without further verification is way easier if you do not have this extra level of complexity.

Having said that, they announced on Twitter that they are working on shared accounts / cards for kids. No ETA, though. But they are happy for feedback and ideas on the matter.

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Just guessing here but I assume the overall demand is not that high and Revolut should spend more time on fixing other things first anyways :slight_smile:

For example in Germany card payments themselves are still rather uncommon - “we” (not “me” :slight_smile: ) love our cash - and since even adults don’t really like paying with cards, most parents don’t consider payment cards for underage kids at all, rather the opposite is the case.

I guess it’s the same in some other countries where card payments are not that common -> not that much demand.

Not sure if there are any legal reasons though, I guess not.

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The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination through protected characteristics, which include age. Section 13(2) creates an exemption for age, which states that “A does not discriminate against B if A can show A’s treatment of B to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. Lenders can use this exemption to refuse credit to those under 18 and insurers can use it to refuse travel insurance to those over 70 for example. But I am struggling to understand what Revolut’s legitimate aim is, given that it is not lending money or suffering any other risk. @anon33247966, what is Revolut’s legitimate aim of refusing non-credit services to under-18s?

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Four points that I am not sure about:

  • Revolut is an e-money company, not a bank. KYC and money laundering regulations under UK national regulation (that allows the very quick onboarding without more complex verification like many other European countries demand) might be a reason.
  • The product is designed in a way that, once verified, this verification allows access to certain features like crypto or insurance packages. For people under 18, some of these services need to be deactivated. Or newly added featured need additional consent of parents. Only by limiting the service to persons of legal age, ID verification can be channeled through to all other service providers easily. So I can see that it was a pragmatic decision for a start up.
  • As far as I know, there aren’t many mobile only banks that offer services for people under 18. Bunq is an exception, but N26 for example isn’t. Like N26, I believe Revolut uses a third party technology partner for automated verification. Maybe this partners do not offer the more complex verification needed. I can see that this is “proportionate means”, since there are many traditional banks out there that offer services for underage at similar prices. Not exactly the same service, but it’s not like one can’t get a free account + debit card.
  • And Revolut confired that they are working on cards for kids. This just might take a while, and the more complex verification process might be part of why.
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Any chance to hear about changing this stupid policy? I would like to give a Revolut card to my 14 years old son and teach him to spend money carefuly. C’mon, Revolut, be smart!

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My 2 girls have had Go-Henry accounts since they were 8. Great prepaid debit card account with smart phone app. Pricey in commissions and UK only focus. Would switch to Revulot in a heartbeat if available.