London-headquartered fintech Revolut has officially received its UK banking licence—albeit currently with restrictions—from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the financial services regulatory body.
The approval comes after years of trying to secure it, with the fintech having filed an application for the licence in 2021. A licence affords the ability to offer lending products such as credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages, as well as hold customer deposits.
Now, Revolut is entering the “mobilisation stage”, also referred to as “Authorisation with Restrictions,” which is a common step for many new banks in the UK. This period allows new banking entities to complete the buildout of their UK banking operations ahead of launching in the market.
Speaking on the announcement, Nik Storonsky, CEO of Revolut, said: “We are incredibly proud to reach this important milestone in the journey of the company and we will ensure we deliver on making Revolut the bank of choice for UK customers.”
Francesca Carlesi, UK CEO of Revolut, also commented: “Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for Revolut and for our customers.
“It is a tremendous responsibility to be a bank in the UK and we will work relentlessly to offer products and services that improve the financial lives of everyone who uses Revolut.
“This is the next phase in Revolut’s journey in the UK – we can’t wait to get going.”
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As it stands, the fintech has around 45 million global customers, with over nine million in the UK alone, and is widely-recognised as one of the prominent neobank players.
Revolut also recently published its financial accounts for 2023. It was announced that Group revenues had surpassed $2.2 billion (£1.7bn~), with record profits before tax of $545m (£423m~).
One of the last times DIGIT reported on Revolut was when we covered Storonsky’s criticism of Britain’s “extreme bureaucracy.”
More recently, we reported on the fintech venturing into the cryptocurrency realm with the launch of Revolut X; a specialised crypto trading platform tailored for retail users in the United Kingdom.
