Revolut will invest £3 billion and create 1,000 jobs over five years to help boost the UK’s financial services sector - all while it looks to also expand into at least 30 other markets and push for 100 million users. And while it still does not have a full UK banking license, could the platform’s ambition for growth be about to skyrocket?
The UK’s banking sector has been due a shake-up for many years now, paving the way for fintechs to sweep in and provide customers with a banking platform that is simple, attractive and modern.
And while the likes of Starling, Monzo and Chase have made reasonable noise, no one is shouting louder than Revolut right now.
Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Start your trial
Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
This week, it did just that as the fintech opened the door to over a hundred VIPs at its new London HQ in Canary Wharf.
Latest Videos FromMoneyWeek
Its new home in the financial district stands out like no other, taking up four floors in the 14-story building, which you can’t miss with its green facade.
Speaking at its opening, chancellor Rachel Reeves said Revolut’s plans take total investment commitments from major financial services companies to over £110 billion in the space of a week, with Blackstone, Blackrock and Paypal added to the mix.
The wave of investments from financial services companies comes months after the government cut unnecessary red tape under the Leeds Reforms.
Reeves said the financial services sector in Britain is worth around 10% of economic output and creates 1.2 million jobs, adding that fintechs like Revolut will “help the country step up”.
“Ever since the financial crisis, our productivity has lagged behind our competitors, and I'm committed to changing that.” Around 98% of fintechs have a significant positive impact on productivity, according to Reeves.
“I am committed to ensuring that Fintech businesses, whether starting, scaling or listing, have the support that they need to succeed here in Britain,” she added.
Revolut’s growth
While Revolut’s UK growth is well underway - and with a sparkling new HQ - its CEO and co-founder, Nik Storonsky, adds that its ultimate goal is to expand to reach 100 million retail customers globally by mid-2027 and be in 30 new markets by 2030.
Storonsky, who is no stranger to Canary Wharf where he once worked at Starbucks over a decade ago, added that Revolut would aim to get a banking license in every country it wants to expand in, saying Revolut will “either get the bank license or just buy a bank”.
Founded in 2015, it now has 65 million customers worldwide, 12 million of which are in the UK.
Revolut is now investing $13 billion (£10 billion) over the next five years, to create 10,000 jobs globally. This includes funding in high-growth regions such as $4 billion (£3 billion) for the UK, $1.2 billion (£880 million) for its Western European hub in France, and $500 million (£375 million) to accelerate its operations in the US.
It is also driving further growth in the European market as well as in new markets across Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.
Storonsky added that Revolut would compete with legacy banks in the regions.
“We've got a lot of scale, a lot of product people to develop, and a lot of data scientists. Local banks cannot really afford such investment in tech. So for us, we're innovating and we’re improving products all the time. Sooner or later, our products will be so much better compared to other banks in any country, so it's impossible to compete”.
Investing in Revolut
Fintech's exponential growth provides opportunities for investors, who are looking to tap into private companies. Earlier this year, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, said it was investing in Revolut as the bank hit a $1 billion profit mark.
Revolut is also expected to launch an IPO next year, although this has not been confirmed, and may list on the Nasdaq as many companies continue to shun the UK stock market. We have seen a number of companies over the last year leave the UK stock market.
But its ultimate challenge is to get a full UK banking license, which is still in progress. In July last year, Revolut was granted a UK banking licence with restrictions. It is now in PRA's ‘mobilisation’ stage, which requires new banks to complete the build out of their banking operations.
