At this fintech, bad Karma means a lower bonus

• Fintech startup Revolut awards or docks "Karma" points based on how staff follow compliance rules.
• These scores roll into team totals that can impact individual bonuses.
• Revolut says the system has improved risk performance by 25% since launching in 2020.

If you work at Revolut, it's not just your targets that could determine your bonus — it's your "Karma."

The London-based fintech uses a points system called Karma to score departments on how well they follow risk and compliance rules.

Bonuses are calculated based on individual performance, but the final payout is adjusted using a multiplier tied to each team's Karma score.

If a department completes required training, flags compliance issues early, and follows policy, employees in that group collect Karma points that may increase their bonuses.

Details of the program were included in Revolut's latest annual report, released Thursday. The company, which provides current accounts, crypto trading, says Karma is designed to reinforce the idea that risk management is a "shared responsibility."

A Revolut spokesperson told Business Insider that Karma isn't about tracking individual staff. "A typical example would be in the event of a risk incident, we apply Karma to ensure investigation and remediation are done on time," they said.

Karma's gonna track teams down

Revolut says companywide compliance performance has improved by 25% since the system launched in 2020. Real-time dashboards track department-level performance, and so-called "risk champions" are embedded across teams to model good behaviour. The company said in its annual report that it expanded the program last year with six new data sources.

Karma is part of a broader shift for Revolut to show it's taking governance seriously. The company secured a UK banking license, with restrictions, in July 2024, after a three-year wait tied to past governance issues.

The company's CEO, Nikolay Storonsky, has previously laid out a hardline approach to performance. In a September 2024 report published by Quantumlight, a venture firm he co-founded, he said underperforming staff at tech startups should be given six weeks to improve or leave immediately. Firms must "direct resources to retain and promote top talent" while focusing on "exiting underperformers as fast as possible," he added.

In its annual report released Thursday, Revolut reported £1.1 billion in pretax profit for 2024 — up 149% from the previous year. The company now has over 52 million customers, and crypto-driven revenue from its Wealth unit tripled. It's also expanding into mortgages and lending, making internal oversight more important than ever.