Revolut secures UK banking license after three-year wait

Revolut, the London-based fintech company, finally secured a banking license in the United Kingdom after a protracted three-year regulatory approval process. 

This significant milestone, announced on July 25, marks a pivotal moment for the company as it strengthens and solidifies its position in its home market.

Entering the UK market

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority granted the license with certain restrictions, allowing Revolut to gradually build out its banking operations before a full-scale launch.

Nik Storonsky, the CEO of Revolut, expressed his pride in reaching this milestone, stating:

“We are incredibly proud to reach this important milestone in the journey of the company and we will ensure we deliver on making Revolut the bank of choice for UK customers.”

The company was founded in 2015 and has rapidly grown its customer base, with nine million registered users in the UK and over 45 million globally. It is supported in 35 countries around the world. 

Related: Centralized crypto exchanges are key for mass adoption, despite FTX collapse — X10 CEO

Revolut was valued at $33 billion during a fundraising round in 2021. Currently, the firm is in discussions to sell shares worth about $500 million, potentially increasing its overall valuation to approximately $40 billion.

If successful, the sale would cement Revolut’s place as Europe’s most valuable startup, according to PitchBook.

 Daniel Waterhouse,  a general partner at Balderton Capital, which led Revolut’s Seed and Series A rounds, commented to Cointelegraph saying that the granting of this licence marks a "huge milestone."

It is a testimony to the quality and sophistication of Revolut’s organization, technology and leadership."

Waterhouse said since leading Revolut’s Seed in 2015 the firm's confidence "never wavered," and the company has gone from "strength to strength."

Revolut dips into crypto

Revolut has also been making big strides with its presence in the crypto space. In early May, the company debuted “Revolut X,”  a dedicated crypto exchange for its UK retail user base, which it claimed would offer fixed low fees and easy fiat-to-crypto conversion.

In March, it announced an integration with MetaMask for direct in-app crypto purchases for its UK and European Economic Area customers. 

Revolut has continued its  suspension of all cryptocurrency services for its United States-based customers since August 2023.

It has also collaborated with Solana on a “Learn and Earn Campaign,” which aimed to increase the user base of the memecoin Bonk ( BONK ) by 500,000.

Magazine: THORChain founder and his plan to ‘vampire attack’ all of DeFi