Revolut

Early history (2015–2017)

Revolut was founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko as an app enabling individuals in the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (EEA) to spend money abroad using interbank foreign exchange rates.[14][15] Customers could use their Revolut card in 90 currencies.[16][14]

In 2016, the company reached around 300,000 users, processing almost £1 billion in transactions.[17]

Revolut then launched a subscription-based app in June 2017 available to businesses across the UK and Europe. Under the name of "Revolut Business", businesses could create an account with a multi-currency IBAN to hold, exchange, and transfer money with 25 currencies.[18][19]

EU banking licence and international expansion (2017–2022)

It first applied for an EU banking licence in November 2017, at which time it also started work on its own payment processor.[20][21] The bank then received its EU banking licence as well as an EMI licence in December 2018 from the European Central Bank, facilitated by the Bank of Lithuania. Under its new license, the bank could accept deposits and offer consumer credits, but it was not allowed to provide investment services until later.[22][23][24]

Following the acquisition of a banking licence, the company announced plans in September 2019 for expansion into 24 new markets, supported by agreements with Visa and Mastercard. The company said that it also wanted to hire an additional 3,500 employees.[25][26][27] In 2019, the Revolut app launched in beta to the Australia region.[28] The following month, Revolut expanded to Singapore.[29] In 2020, the app launched in the United States and Japan.[30][31]

By November 2020, Revolut reported that it had reached breakeven. At that time, it was valued at £4.2 billion.[32]

The company applied for banking licence in the United Kingdom and a bank charter in the United States in early 2021.[33][34][35] The European Central Bank also granted Revolut a full banking licence later that year.[36]

Transition to a licensed bank (2022–2023)

After having secured bank licences, Revolut started moving away from being an e-money institution to a bank. In January 2022, it started operating as a bank in 10 European countries.[37] In January 2023, the company announced that it would transfer its 2 million Irish customers to a new Irish branch, moving them from a Lithuanian IBAN to an Irish IBAN.[38] This was followed by a launch for IBANs in France, Netherlands and Spain in September 2023.[39][40] By the end of the year, it was reported that Revolut held £15.1 billion in customer deposits.[41][42][43]

Revolut expanded its investment offerings during this time. In September 2022, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority added Revolut to its list of companies authorised to offer cryptocurrency products and services, formalising its pre-2022 unregulated crypto trading.[44] The bank also began allowing staking for holders of proof of stake cryptocurrencies in the UK and EEA.[40][45] In October 2023, Revolut expanded its stock trading services to include European stock trading in the EEA.[46][47][48]

In September 2022, Revolut was the target of a cyber attack that exposed the personal data of over 50,000 customers.[49][50] Additionally, in July 2023, a flaw in its US payment system led to the loss of $20 million in corporate funds to criminal groups between late 2021 and early 2022, though some of the money was later recouped.[51] On the regulatory front, Revolut halted cryptocurrency trading services for its US customers in 2023, citing the "evolving regulatory environment" as the Securities and Exchange Commission intensified scrutiny against the sector.[52] Financially, despite its growth, the company reported £25m loss in 2022 amid ongoing uncertainty regarding the UK banking licence.[53]

UK banking licence and global expansion (2024–2026)

By August 2024, the company had doubled its headcount over the past two years, employing over 8,000 people in more than 25 countries.[54] Revolut was also granted a British banking licence the following month, though with restrictions via the standard "mobilization" stage.[55] By the end of 2024, Revolut reported having 50 million registered users globally.[56]

In April 2025, Revolut obtained the Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to offer payment solutions including pre-paid cards.[57]

In May 2025, Revolut announced that it plans to invest $1.1 billion over the next three years to expand in France and made Paris its Western European headquarters, at the summit.[58][59]

In June 2025, Revolut announced its plans to acquire, an Argentina-based lender, from BNP Paribas. Terms were not disclosed.[60] The same month, Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier (a former board member of Société Générale and executive at BNP Paribas) was appointed CEO of Revolut's Western Europe headquarters, based in Paris.[61] In september 2025, it named former Société Générale CEO Frédéric Oudéa as Chairman of its Western Europe hub.[62]

In 2025, Revolut entered discussions with the Bank of Israel to obtain a "lean bank" licence.[63]

In September 2025, Revolut secured in-principle approval for payments licence from the UAE.[64]

In December 2025, Revolut entered talks with Blackstone that could see the world's largest alternative-asset manager offering its funds on the Revolut platform.[65]

In January 2026, Revolut applied for a full banking license in Peru as it sought to expand into Latin America. This marked the firm's fifth market expansion.[66]

On 27 January 2026, Revolut launched full banking operations in Mexico. This marked Revolut's first bank established outside of Europe and become the first independent digital bank to secure a Mexican banking license through a direct application. Revolut capitalized its operations with over $100 million, which was more than double the regulatory minimum.[67]

On 11 March 2026, Revolut announced that they have received their full UK banking license, which means that customers will now be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme on any deposits under £120,000.[68][69] The licence also authorises the company to provide consumer credit services to UK customers.[70]

US expansion (2025–2026)

In 2025, Revolut explored an existing US bank acquisition to further expand its global footprint.[71] In February 2026, the company announced that it was shifting its plan to establish an independent national charter and had applied for a license with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).[72]

On 5 March 2026, Revolut announced it had applied for a US banking license with the OCC and the FDIC.[73][74]

In an April 20, 2026 interview to Bloomberg, Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky stated that the digital bank is approximately two years away from an IPO, with a U.S. listing as the preference.[75]

Employment practices

In March 2019, Wired published an exposé of the company's employment practices and work culture. It included allegations by some former employees of unpaid work, high staff turnover, and employees feeling the need to work weekends to meet performance indicators.[85] A later article in December 2019 by Sifted noted that Revolut had a higher rating on Glassdoor than its peers.[86]

Automated suspension of accounts (2020)

Revolut, like traditional financial institutions, uses algorithms to identify money laundering, fraud, and other criminal activity. Under certain anti–money laundering legislation, if suspicious activities are being investigated, bank staff are not allowed to tell customers why their accounts have been frozen.[87]

It has been reported since 2020 that Revolut's algorithms suspended accounts for weeks or months at a time after unusual activity was detected. Revolut's policies require customers whose accounts were suspended to request a resolution via in-app chat support.[88][89][90] Revolut said that "the system is programmed to temporarily lock an account and place it in a queue, until one of our compliance agents can review the case".[91]

In February 2020, The Daily Telegraph reported that Revolut suspended an account containing £90,000 for more than two months[92] and that another customer travelled 500 miles from Auvergne in France to Revolut's London offices in an unsuccessful attempt to recover £15,000 in an account that Revolut had frozen with no justification given.[93] The account was later closed and the money in it returned to the customer's other bank accounts.[93]

Also in February 2020, The Times reported that Revolut suspended and later closed a business account containing €300,000 belonging to Priorité Energie, an energy transition start-up company, preventing the company from paying its staff.[94] Revolut publicly apologised and eventually rectified the problem.[94]

UK fraud victims

In 2023, Revolut reported a 35% reduction in authorised push payment fraud.[95] However, the company remained one of the most frequently named financial institutions in UK fraud complaints, prompting scrutiny of its security measures.[96] The number of complaints of fraud reported to Action Fraud, the UK reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, by Revolut customers rose from 567 in February 2023 to 1,086 for February 2024.[82]

Prior to Revolut having a banking licence, complaints were made by defrauded Revolut customers to the Financial Ombudsman, which in some cases required Revolut to reimburse and compensate victims, and remove fraud markers wrongly placed against the individuals.[97]

Action Fraud received 10,000 reports of fraud naming Revolut in 2023, 2,000 more than Barclays, one of the UK's largest banks, and twice as many as a competitor bank of similar size to Revolut. That year over 3,500 complaints about Revolut were made to the ombudsman, more than any other financial institution. Consumer organisation Which? did not recommend banking large sums of money with Revolut, saying "They have a track record of not reimbursing people who fall victim to fraud or find themselves in this incredibly difficult situation, [and] of money being taken from accounts even after scam activity has been reported."[98]