Digital bank Revolut notes in its end of year review that “it goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other.” It has definitely impacted all our lives, including how we spend our money and the way we save, the Fintech firm confirmed.
While most people have had to remain indoors a lot more than they might have expected to or liked, staying home also has its benefits, according to Revolut. Many people might have saved a lot of money they’d normally spend while dining out or other costs related to commuting to work and other physical business locations.
As mentioned in a blog post by Revolut, the way we’ve all spent our funds has been “a little different too – we’ve supported our local businesses more, ordered our groceries online and sent digital cash gifts to friends and family across the country and the world.”
A Revolut user spent “on average £561 this year on travel, which is less compared to an average of £997 in 2019.” The digital bank’s customers spent “on average £338 this year on transport, which is less compared to an average of £458 in 2019.”
The Revolut team further noted that the bank’s clients “on average made 3.3 times more transactions on groceries than restaurants this year.” While sharing more details on consumer behavior and spending, the digital bank revealed that its customers “on average spent 2.6 more times on online shopping than on in-store purchases this year.”
As noted by the Fintech firm, its clients spent “on average £287 with top takeaway vendors (Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber eats, Wolt, Glovo, takeaway.com) this year, up from an average of £182 per user in 2019.”
While sharing other updates, the Revolut team confirmed:
“From January 1, 2021, new regulations will come into effect across Europe which require most types of Internet payments to be made with an extra security layer called 3D Secure (or 3DS). These same regulations will also require card issuers to decline certain payments if they weren’t processed using this extra security layer.”
What these changes mean for consumers is that large online payments without the merchant asking customers to complete 3DS will be declined by Revolut as part of its “regulatory obligations.”
As explained by the Revolut team, 3DS adds additional security to card payments made via the Internet. The bank does this by asking its customers to verify their payments in the Revolut app before they approve it with the merchant.
So even if a bad actor or fraudster gains access to a customer’s card details, they won’t be able to use them to conduct digital payments “where 3DS is involved.” The card holders would receive an alert asking them to verify the payment and can reject it with just a tap in their Revolut app. (Note: to learn more about this update, check here.)