UK travelers will soon be able to claim back VAT on purchases made abroad automatically using their phones, thanks to a technology developed using AI.  

Each year more billions in VAT and similar taxes are left unclaimed by UK shoppers in Europe – because typically the recovery procedure is clunky, confusing, and difficult to access.  

The UK fintech company Revenir AI can automate the process through partnerships with tax authorities and financial institutions and with innovative technologies enabling banks to generate revenue and add value to their digital interface.  Increasingly, banks collaborate with fintechs to drive innovation and enhance customer experience where these overcome concerns around information security and regulatory compliance.  

Founder and CEO Shawn Du came up with the idea after queuing for hours to make a VAT claim at Heathrow following a family holiday, then developed the concept during his MBA. Shawn met Co-Founder, Miles Covers whilst studying at Imperial College London where they had the idea of developing innovative technologies for an international market, and established Revenir to save money and cut paper use for tourists.

They and their experienced team have since developed a white-label app for banks so that they can automatically refund VAT to their retail customers via their debit or credit cards, in an average of 48 hours.  Whereas airport reclaims currently take hours of queuing and can incur fees of 40-70% and digital processes take weeks and involve much paperwork and copies of receipts, with commission typically 35% or more. 

Revenir explains that taxation is a fertile environment for innovation as reclaiming tax is an information-intensive process that depends on the decisions of several parties occurring in sequence, culminating in a single event – repayment. Revenir analyses the different data involved in real-time, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to make calculated decisions throughout the process, greatly increasing the quality of the outcome while making the process much easier for the tourist. 

Revenir has raised £2.5m from shareholders to disrupt the £100bn global tax reclaim market with its AI-driven technology. The London firm is expanding the platform, adding new destinations globally and in Europe. Directors are talking to potential partners who are attracted by the opportunity to add significant value to their service, boosting 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 travelers 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 lengthy forms and through the digital receipt eco-system. In the UK 11bn 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.