Revolut can launch as a full-fledged bank in the U.K., after the Prudential Regulation Authority lifted restrictions on the neobank’s license, the company said Wednesday.
“Becoming a bank in our home market marks a defining moment in our journey — a milestone achieved through relentless focus, discipline and belief in what we’re building,” Francesca Carlesi, Revolut’s U.K. CEO, said in a statement. “Securing this license lays the foundation for our next chapter: expanding into a broader suite of products, including credit, to sit alongside the innovative services our customers already rely on every day.”
The full license allows Revolut a platform for loans, mortgages, credit cards, overdraft protection and savings products — facets that its neobank competitors Monzo and Starling have provided for some time.
The license also protects customers’ deposits up to £120,000 ($160,550) if the bank fails, through Financial Services Compensation Scheme coverage.
Revolut first sought a banking license through the PRA in 2021, but the company’s application ran into multiple problems, including a warning that auditors could not fully verify Revolut’s revenue figures from that year because of the faulty design of the fintech’s IT system.
Revolut improved its internal controls, it said, and condensed its six classes of shares into ordinary stock to align itself with PRA rules.
The agency granted Revolut a conditional license in 2024, putting the company in a “mobilization” phase that let the fintech test its systems while rolling out new services, and address any issues that regulators identified.
However, during that trial period, the company could hold no more than £50,000 in total customer deposits. Wednesday’s transition signaled the end of the mobilization phase.
Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky on Wednesday called the licensing change a “long-term strategic priority” and a “vital step in our mission to build the world’s first truly global bank.”
“We look forward to introducing a full suite of banking services to our millions of UK customers, bringing the same innovative experience we already provide across the rest of Europe,” Storonsky said Wednesday.
Revolut counts roughly 13 million customers in the U.K. and about 70 million worldwide, the company has said.
Nothing will change immediately for existing U.K. customers, the company said. Revolut will give at least two months’ notice to existing customers before migrating accounts to the new bank. The first of those customers will be notified in the coming days, Revolut said.
The company, meanwhile, will gradually begin rolling out accounts to new customers in a few days, starting with a small group and expanding over the coming weeks.
The U.K. licensing change comes less than a week after Revolut announced it has applied for a U.S. banking charter and federal deposit insurance, and has appointed its next U.S. CEO.
Revolut announced plans in September to spend $13 billion to push its user base to 100 million people. That effort is meant to create 10,000 jobs globally in the pursuit of business in more than 30 new markets by 2030, Revolut said. The company notched a $75 billion valuation in November.
Mobilization phases, such as the one that just ended for Revolut, typically take about a year. Revolut’s took longer because of its size, a representative for the company told Reuters.
