Fintech giant Revolut is now authorised as a UK bank

Revolut, the financial services company known for its mobile app, has finally secured a UK banking license after a three-year wait, marking a significant milestone for the company.

While Revolut isn't a fully-fledged bank just yet that offers a wider range of financial products and services, it has been authorised with restrictions, pending the completion of a “mobilisation” period, a common regulatory stage for many new banks to set up their banking processes before starting to operate as a bank in the UK.

Once the fintech giant receives full authorisation, it can begin to offer a broader range of financial products, potentially mortgages. In 2022, Revolut started offering personal loans thanks to a banking license in Lithuania in late 2021, allowing it to offer personal loans in some European countries. In 2023, it started offering credit cards, and in May 2024 it started offering instant-access savings accounts.

It would be interesting to see how Revolut ventures into mortgage products in 2025, and possibly improve on its existing products with cheaper loans and mortgages.

Revolut, known for its innovative approach and focus on mobile-first experiences, could potentially rival the UK's largest banks by market value, namely HSBC ($156.2 billion), Lloyds Bank ($38.6 billion), Barclays Bank ($29.8 billion), and NatWest ($24.8 billion), according to company data as of 2023.

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TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji

In January 2023, Forbes estimated Revolut to be worth approximately $13.8 billion, which is way below the $33 billion valuation it achieved in a Series E funding round of $800 million from investors, including SoftBank Group and Tiger Global Management in July 2021, around the peak of the fintech boom.

In its latest financial this month, the company reported a 2023 pre-tax profit of £438 million ($545 million), up from a pre-tax loss of £25.4 million in 2022, while group revenues rose by 95% to £1.8 billion, up from £920 million in 2022.

With over 45 million customers worldwide, and more than 9 million customers in the UK alone, Revolut's ambition to revolutionise the UK's banking sector offering all things financial seems to be coming closer to reality.

It will be interesting to see how the new UK bank leverages its existing customer base and technological expertise to compete in the crowded UK banking sector.