The news: Revolut launched “street mode,” a security feature designed to thwart transfer mugging, per a press release.

Revolut users can set up “trusted locations” within their banking apps where they can transfer funds without additional security measures. Outside of those zones, users will have to wait one hour and undergo a biometric check to complete a transfer. 

Why this matters: Phone snatching is on the rise. In London, 80,000 phones were stolen in 2024, per a New York Times report. Some of these thefts are initiated to transfer large sums of money from the owners’ bank, Cash App, Venmo, or PayPal accounts while their devices are unlocked. 

For banking and payments providers, rolling out security measures to protect their users should be a top priority: 3 of the top 5 most in-demand US mobile banking emerging features in our 2025 Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark report relate to security and control. Rolling out innovative security measures that take advantage of biometrics gives users peace of mind.

What competitors are doing: Revolut’s peers are also taking note of consumers’ need for more transaction security.

• Spanish bank BBVA launched “discrete mode,” which hides sensitive information on users’ phones if its app detects a second pair of non-authorized eyes looking at the screen.
• PayPal and Venmo debuted a dynamic, AI-powered scam alert system to shield consumers from “friends and family” fraud transactions.
• Apple Cash will require identity verification for users trying to send or receive peer-to-peer (P2P) payments that exceed a weekly limit of $500.
• And Cash App tightened its parental controls for teen and preteen users to send or receive money from unknown contacts.

Our take: Protecting users’ money should be top-of-mind for payment providers and banks. 

But there are key security features that banks still fail to offer—despite strong consumer demand. 

• Twenty-eight percent of consumers in our benchmark said that blocking contactless payments was “extremely valuable,” but just one bank—Truist—delivered. 
• Similarly, alerts for SSN breaches were the most-demanded feature (53%), but only Chase and Capital One offer it. 

Go deeper: Check out our 2025 US Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark for more insights on the features customers want most—and how to deliver them.