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Why does Revolut keep asking me for my PPS number?

Customers who don’t comply can find their accounts restricted

Revolut, as a European bank, is understood to look for the PPS numbers of its customers to determine where they are tax resident. Photograph: Bryan O Brien/The Irish Times

Tue Nov 14 2023 - 05:45

It’s a query that has regularly come up of late from readers: why is my bank asking me for my PPS number and is it allowed do so?

In this day and age, when fraud is a concern for so many, asking for such personal information can understandably cause concern.

But is your bank or payments provider entitled to ask you for such personal information? And what might happen if you don’t feel comfortable giving it?

Your PPS number

According to a spokesman from the Department of Social Protection, a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) is a “unique identifier” for an individual. Primarily, its purpose is to “assist in, and enhance the efficiency of, the provision of public services to members of the public”.

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Those public services vary from applying for a driving licence, to the provision of health and education services, as well as social welfare payments and services.

Typically, you’ll get your PPS number at birth, or within about a week if starting a new job in Ireland. Having such a number helps you access social welfare benefits and public services and is used for tax purposes.

As such, a range of public bodies are entitled to ask you for your PPS number, including An Garda Síochána; the Central Statistics Office; the Insolvency Service of Ireland; the Pensions Authority; and the Financial Services and Pension Ombudsman.

However, your PPS number also has uses beyond the public service, and there are other people/companies that are entitled to ask you for your PPS number.

According to the Department of Social Protection, these include your employer, as they will need it for tax purposes, and your landlord.

It may puzzle you why your landlord asks for your PPS number. While you may need theirs, in order to register for the recently introduced rent credit, they will also need yours to register the tenancy with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

While the RTB is approved by law to request such information, a landlord will be acting as its agent in asking tenants for the information.

For example, if you’re looking to rent a property with Kennedy Wilson, you will be required to show a number of documents, including a character or employment reference; your previous landlord’s reference; a bank statement; photo ID – and your PPS number.

When buying a house, you may need to give your PPS number for Revenue purposes to do with stamp duty/capital gains, while it may also be a requirement of getting a mortgage, for the purposes of the Credit Reporting Act 2013.

In addition, health insurance providers can request relevant information in relation to an insured person including the PPS number of the person.

So too can financial institutions.

Opening bank accounts

If you have an account with digital bank Revolut you may have received a request of late to supply it with your PPS number.

It’s understood that Revolut, as a European bank, looks for the tax numbers of its customers to determine where they are tax resident.

On its website it says: “Revolut, as a financial institution, is required by law to collect and report information on your tax residencies. This is regulated by international standards, specifically CRS (Common Reporting Standard) and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act).”

For new customers, this means that when they sign up for an account they must provide their PPS number within 90 days.

And so must those who already have accounts.

As a result, existing customers are now being asked to submit their PPS number in the Revolut app within 90 days if they have not previously done so.

But should you do this?

One reader contacted us noting how she was contacted in recent months by the bank looking for her PPS number -despite having an account since 2017. She said that she didn’t feel comfortable disclosing this information, as she was concerned about security of this data, and wasn’t aware of other Irish banks requesting such information.

Different institutions do take a different view on this.

AIB, for example, clearly sets out on its website that it asks for a PPS number when opening a current account. It also looks for such information for deposit accounts, as it is “required to report the interest and customer details including PPSN where provided to us, to the Irish Revenue Commissioners, subjection to certain exclusions”.

But not all banks do. Bank of Ireland says there is no requirement for customers to provide a PPS number when looking to open a current account.

“The only requirement for customers to provide a PPS number is if they apply for an overdraft greater than €500 on the current account application,” a spokesman says. This is because the bank must consult the Central Credit Register for all credit applications for €500 or more.

All loan requests must come with a PPS number, as it’s required by the Central Bank of Ireland’s Central Credit Register for customer identification.

So what’s the regulatory stance on these requests? And why is one bank asking for a PPS number and another isn’t?

We asked the Central Bank for its view, and were directed to a document on anti-money laundering measures in the financial sector. In this, it sets out the view that when it comes to current accounts, the regulator “has not included prescriptive/definitive examples of documentation that it considers would satisfy customer identification and verification requirements”.

As a result, it’s up to individual firms, and their own “risk-based approach”, to assess what documents they need to ask customers for in order to comply with national and international money laundering standards.

Some financial institutions, then, would rather have the tax numbers of all its customers ready to hand to help comply with international money laundering rules; others will deem the data they have to be sufficient.

What happens if I don’t supply it?

If you’d rather not contribute your PPS number, and your bank is firmly requesting it, then it’s likely that your account – at least with Revolut – will be affected. Customers are typically given 90 days to respond with their tax number. After this, it’s understood that customers who don’t provide their PPS number to Revolut will have their accounts restricted.

This means that they won’t be able to add or receive any money into the account; but will still be able to use funds already in their accounts.

Who can ask for your PPS number?

· An Garda Síochána

· Central Applications Office

· Central Statistics Office (CSO)

· Companies Registration Office (CRO)

· Financial institutions

· Health insurance providers

· The Public Appointments Service

· Insolvency Service of Ireland

· Irish Prison Service (IPS)

· Landlords