London-based fintech company Revolut announced that it received its UK banking licence with restrictions from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the UK banking sector’s regulator.
With this development, the UK-based fintech company has entered the ‘mobilisation’ stage, also known as ‘Authorisation with Restrictions’. This stage is a common process for new banks in the UK, including Monzo, Starling, and Atom Bank.
Daniel Waterhouse, General Partner at Balderton Capital, which led Revolut’s Seed and Series A rounds, says, “For a company the scale of Revolut, gaining a banking licence was never going to happen overnight. It is, rightly, a complex process that takes a lot of work.”
“The granting of this licence marks a huge milestone and is testimony to the quality and sophistication of Revolut’s organisation, technology and leadership.”
“Since we led Revolut’s Seed in 2015, our confidence has never wavered, and the company has gone from strength to strength. From a founder with an idea and a pitch deck to a global fintech giant, improving the financial lives of over 45 million customers in 38 countries around the world,” adds Waterhouse.
Nothing changes for UK customers
Revolut confirms that during this ‘mobilisation’ stage, nothing changes for UK customers, who can continue using their Revolut e-money accounts as usual. This phase allows Revolut to complete its UK banking operations before launching in the market.
During this stage, the London-based fintech company can hold only £50,000 of total customer deposits. UK customers will continue using Revolut Ltd, a regulated e-money institution until the new bank fully launches.
Nik Storonsky, CEO of Revolut, says, “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, adds, “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.”
Brief about Revolut
Revolut was founded in 2015 offering money transfer and exchange services. Today, it serves over nine million UK customers and 45 million customers globally, facilitating more than half a billion transactions each month.
Recently, the company published its 2023 financial performance, reporting record profits of €503M and a 95 per cent increase in group revenues.
Earlier this year, in May, Revolut introduced the Dutch International Bank Account Number (IBAN) to simplify business banking for its customers in the Netherlands.
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