One of UK’s fastest-growing fintechs and unicorn has secured its Revolut European banking licence. It will start lending in Europe next year.
It’s an unpredictable time for financial organisations. The outcome of Brexit will determine how much access they have to customers on the continent.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The UK parliament can’t seem to decide among themselves how to leave the European Union and Theresa May is clinging onto her leadership after a swift vote of no-confidence.
Potentially, changes to regulation at European level could make it harder for fintechs based in London to compete with those headquartered in EU countries. However, Revolut has prepared itself strongly to cope with any outcome that Brexit could bring up as it secures it European banking licence through the Bank of Lithuania.
Revolut’s says that this edges it closer to becoming the ‘Amazon of banking’.
Along with Vlad Yatsenko, Storonsky launched Revolut in 2015 as a banking alternative. It aims to completely transforming how people manage money. Now, it is has close to 3 million users.
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By GlobalDataIt has grown rapidly over three years, expanding its offerings and reach.
In December 2017, Revolut launched its cryptocurrency feature, enabling customers to buy and sell within its app. 2019 is set to be the biggest year for Revolut as it plans to launch in several major international markets.
True to its word, Revolut will also launch its commission-free stock trading across the UK and Europe in early 2019. This will mirror what the Robinhood app is doing in the US.
Expansion
The Revolut European banking licence will allow the fintech’s customers to start depositing their salaries into the account. Up to €100,000 ($113,000) is protected under the European Deposit Insurance Scheme.
It’s new freedom to offer more products is a big win for Revolut. Both Monzo and Starling bank already have banking licences and so could offer a wider range of products.
CEO of Revolut, Nik Storonsky, commented: “With the banking licence now secured, commission-free stock trading progressing well and five new international markets at final stages of launch, we are living up to our reputation as the “Amazon of banking”. Our vision is simple: one app with tens of millions of users, where you can manage every aspect of your financial life with the best value and technology.”
It will take somewhere between three and six months for Revolut to begin passporting their banking licence across Europe. The focus is initially on the United Kingdom, France and Poland.
Revolut’s vision is for retail and business customers to apply for loans in the Revolut app. Furthermore, having the money in their account almost instantly.
The company is opening between 8,000 and 10,000 current accounts daily and transacting over $4 billion per month in volumes. In terms of revenues, Revolut has increased revenues fivefold year on year and aims to do the same in the coming year.
Revolut has also announced their plans to expand beyond Europe, with the US, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand all expected to launch in early 2019.
