A week ago I wrote a post about a big problem or a small problem with my friend and his Revolut X app which is the Revolut banking app's crypto exchange. My friend tried to move his crypto he had purchased on the exchange to Metamask which it did not recognize and called it a scam. He tried to move the crypto to Binance and this was also not allowed. I am not sure if it is the fees Revolut X wants to make and is forcing the crypto to stay on their exchange or there is another reason.
He was asked for personal information that needed to be submitted and showed me his Crypto X app which had a count down for the information to be submitted. This includes a tax certificate from the UK which he does not have. The countdown is currently at 46 days having initially given him 60 days to be compliant. The crypto wallet needs to be emptied before that time expires or I do think it will be frozen. Maybe they will not even allow him to sell his crypto and he will let me know how this unfolds.
At the time I gave him his choices with one of them being selling his crypto back for cash on the Revolut X app and then sending the money directly to his Revolut bank account. Once that has been completed than he can buy the crypto elsewhere and then deposit into his cold wallet. He unfortunately will have to pay out $975 in fees as they have a 3.9% fee which is $39 per $1000. A total rip off and why you need to be careful how and where you buy your crypto.
This has left him with a sour taste and is not that happy to deal with exchanges. I have warned him about Binance and what regulation is expected in the future so even using Binance he is now hesitant.
The one option which I had not thought about and makes perfect sense is purchasing the crypto directly from Pallapay who would be the service provider offering the off ramp in Dubai. Having an account set up with Pallapay having bought the crypto from them and then sending them to a cold wallet keeps you out of sight from regulators. This I do think is probably the smartest move especially having seen Binance adding pop ups for South African users asking questions like source of funds. This pop up appears even if you are withdrawing funds or sending crypto to another wallet. Then it wants to know if the wallet you are sending the crypto to is your wallet. Too many questions and something to avoid.
Adding to all of this nonsense his South African bank phoned him asking various questions. Do you have a ban account outside of SA? How much money do you send to this account? What is the purpose of this account? He told them it was for family purposes only which is mainly the truth. What he has done and warned him that he has bought unnecessary attention to himself and needs to be more careful.
He now knows I have a contact that will move funds anonymously and now more than ever needs to use this service. The banks are asking questions on behalf of the receiver even when he has done nothing illegal. The amount he has sent abroad does not breach any rules and he is entitled to do so as this is his money he has paid tax on in South Africa. The problem is the banks nor the receiver like the idea you have other bank accounts outside the country which they cannot control. We have to be two steps ahead of them and not to be so stupid in what we do. His impatience sending bigger amounts raised the questions and if he had sent lots of smaller amounts over a couple of days he would have stayed under the radar.