Every year, billions in VAT and equivalent taxes go unclaimed by UK consumers in Europe due to the cumbersome, complex, and inaccessible nature of the current reclaim process.

Revenir AI, a UK fintech firm, has streamlined this process through collaborations with tax authorities and financial institutions, leveraging cutting-edge technology that enables banks to enhance their revenue streams and enrich their digital offerings. Banks are increasingly partnering with fintech companies to foster innovation and improve customer service, provided these partnerships address concerns related to information security and regulatory adherence.

The inception of Revenir AI was inspired by Founder and CEO Shawn Du's personal experience of lengthy queues for VAT reclaims at Heathrow after a family vacation, an idea which he further refined during his MBA studies. Alongside Co-Founder Miles Covers, whom he met at Imperial College London, they envisioned the use of innovative technology for the global market, leading to the creation of Revenir with the goals of saving money and reducing paper usage for travellers.

The team has developed a white-label application for banks, enabling them to issue automatic VAT refunds to their retail customers directly onto their debit or credit cards, typically within 48 hours. This system contrasts starkly with the current airport reclaim process, which involves long waits and fees between 40-70%, and digital processes that are slow, paperwork-intensive, and often take weeks, with commissions usually exceeding 35%.

Revenir highlights the tax reclaim sector as ripe for innovation, given its reliance on an information-heavy process that requires sequential decisions by multiple parties, culminating in repayment. By analysing varied data in real-time through artificial intelligence and machine learning, Revenir significantly improves the quality of outcomes and simplifies the process for travellers.

Having raised £2.5 million from investors, Revenir aims to disrupt the £100 billion global tax reclaim market with its AI-powered platform. The London-based company is broadening its service to include new destinations worldwide and across Europe, engaging with potential partners drawn to the prospect of enhancing their services, thereby increasing customer acquisition, retention, and satisfaction.Shawn Du said: “We’ve used AI to transform a complex, rather off-putting process into an easy, fun way for bank customers to claim back tax while making travel more rewarding. The amounts can be small or large, but we believe almost everyone will use it in the coming years.”

Miles Covers, the CFO, added: “Many people don’t know they’re eligible to reclaim VAT on shopping in Europe; others don’t bother as it is too much hassle – so some 80% of VAT is left unclaimed by UK travellers abroad.”

While the UK is among the few countries to have stopped VAT refunds on international shopping, UK residents can claim for travel abroad, and are well placed to do so at the Paris Olympics, where tourists are predicted to spend €4 billion this summer, with Britons among the biggest spenders.

Revenir, based in Clerkenwell, is committed to positive environmental and social outcomes, reducing paper use by dispensing with lengthy forms and through the digital receipt eco-system. In the UK 11 billion paper receipts are issued a year, most going to landfill. Revenir joins the impressive cohort of fintechs who have and are changing the way the UK makes payments and has embraced mobile banking. That same technology is now being used by Revenir to make claiming overseas taxes possible at the click of a button.