Revolut has officially received the necessary regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), allowing it to operate as a fully-fledged bank in the UK after a prolonged five-year wait. The company announced that it would begin offering current accounts to a limited number of new customers in the coming days.
This milestone follows the limited banking licence granted to Revolut in 2024, which came after the company’s initial application submitted in 2021. The road to full licence approval has been fraught with challenges, leading to frustration among Revolut’s executives due to the slow pace of UK regulatory processes. The fintech had been seeking the ability to hold customer deposits and expand into more lucrative financial products, such as loans and mortgages.
The delays in securing the full licence were attributed to several factors, including the need to address past accounting issues and breaches of EU regulations, alongside reputational challenges stemming from what has been described as an overly aggressive corporate culture. Tensions in the financial sector intensified, particularly following an intervention from Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who blocked a proposed meeting between Rachel Reeves and regulators to discuss Revolut’s licensing concerns. This action raised alarm regarding the potential impact of political influence on the independent regulatory process.
With an impressive customer base of 13 million in the UK and a valuation of $75 billion (£55 billion) last year, Revolut aims to significantly expand its banking offerings in the future. Co-founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky emphasized that launching the UK bank represents a major strategic priority for the company, underscoring its importance as the home market central to Revolut’s growth strategy.
Since obtaining its restricted banking licence in 2024, Revolut has been testing its banking infrastructure with a small group of customers. However, this licence limited the company’s ability to manage customer deposits exceeding £50,000. Since its launch in the UK in 2015, initially as a platform for money transfers and currency exchange, Revolut has expanded globally, amassing 70 million customers worldwide.
Looking ahead, the company has ambitious plans to enter 30 new markets by 2030 and has committed to investing £10 billion across its global operations over the next five years. Last September, Revolut announced a significant £3 billion investment aimed specifically at enhancing its UK expansion efforts and creating an estimated 1,000 new jobs.
