SINGAPORE: Users of financial technology (fintech) company Revolut Ltd are allowed to hold more funds in their eWallets and spend more in a year, as the firm responds to increased demand from travellers and customers who are investing through the app.

Users can hold up to S$20,000 in their eWallets at any point, an increase from S$5,000. They can spend a maximum of S$100,000 in a year, up from S$30,000 previously, said the company on June 18.

It had sent emails to customers notifying them of the changes earlier in the month.

Revolut Singapore chief executive Raymond Ng told The Straits Times that customer sign-ups have increased by about two times each year compared with the previous year since the firm launched here in 2019.

Asked how many users were hitting the previous caps, Ng said he could not disclose exact numbers, but noted that a significant number of users had hit both the daily limit cap and yearly spending cap. They include travellers who shop for luxury items overseas and customers paying for their children’s tuition fees abroad.

“With the cap increases, we expect payment volumes in-app to increase by at least two to three times.”

In line with the raised limits, the fintech firm has also introduced additional security controls. These include a 12-hour cooling off period when a login to a new device is detected before users can perform high-risk activities such as adding a new payee or increasing the default transaction limit.

There is also additional confirmation and a risk warning before high-risk activities are performed, as well as a limit of one saved card and one linked bank account for top-ups, among other measures.

The changes come after the Monetary Authority of Singapore raised the caps on eWallets in December 2023, with rival fintech player YouTrip increasing its limits the following month.

Wise Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd (Wise), which also operates a multi-currency eWallet, said previously that it is “working on implementing the changes”.

London-based Revolut has seen a growing number of sophisticated investors using its app in Singapore.

Ng said: “Our app is a one-stop shop. If you have to go into different apps for different things, it’s not very efficient for the sophisticated user. This is one segment that’s growing very fast because they are using us in that way.”

Revolut allows users to trade stocks and exchange-traded funds - users can buy fractional shares starting at US$1 - as well as commodities and crypto.

On May 29, the company launched Flexible Accounts, its first interest-bearing product in Singapore. Top-ups are invested in US dollar-denominated money market funds managed by global asset manager Fidelity International. The product, which has already seen US$1.7mil in account balances, gives investors up to 5.21% in annual percentage yield.

Customers will soon also be able to access a robo-advisory solution, which is in the pipeline, added Ng.

“As a financial super app, our aspiration is to provide many financial services. Whatever you see in the market that is relevant, we will provide to customers,” he said.

Besides investments, Revolut offers payments and remittance services. Its products include a flagship multi-currency account, a debit card and single-use virtual cards.

It has also launched services in a new currency, the Indonesian rupiah, bringing the total number of currencies users can exchange and store in the app to 34.

Asked about the timing of raising Revolut’s limits, he said: “We wanted to ensure that we are comprehensive and thorough in meeting regulatory requirements as well as customer needs, given that we have several different products.

“We also wanted to time it together with the launch of our latest product, Flexible Accounts, and the June holidays, which see higher travel demand.”

Citing customer feedback that the previous caps were limiting their transactions, Ng said: “The cap increase solves a big part of their challenge because now, they can do much more.”

Besides serving individuals, Revolut also plans to launch Revolut Business in the next few months. It will start by catering to small and medium enterprises - including foreign companies that are using the city as a base for regional expansion - and then larger companies too.

Ng said: “We want to be their go-to app for all their daily usage, just like for our retail business, in Singapore and also for their overseas needs when they expand into South-East Asia or Asia-Pacific.”

 - ANN