Revolut has secured a full banking licence from UK regulators, ending a four-year wait for a permit that is crucial to the international growth of Europe’s most valuable fintech.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates lenders, has lifted restrictions on the authorisation it granted two years ago, Revolut said on Wednesday, confirming an earlier FT report.
The licence will allow the fintech to lend at scale in the UK and push into lucrative markets dominated by traditional banks.
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Revolut, which has 13 million UK customers, has been in an extended mobilisation phase during which time its banking division could hold only £50,000 (€58,000) in total deposits.
Although lenders are usually granted a full licence within 12 months of entering the mobilisation phase, Revolut had been waiting since July 2024, with the delay in part due to its size.
The protracted licensing process has been closely watched by the government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves tried to broker a meeting between Revolut and PRA officials last year but was thwarted by BoE governor Andrew Bailey, who thought this was inconsistent with regulatory impartiality, the FT had reported.
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Revolut already had a Lithuanian banking licence, which authorised it to operate across the EU. The UK licence will allow the company to start lending in its home market while also granting greater protections for customer accounts. It will also mean the company is subject to greater regulatory scrutiny.
Nik Storonsky, co-founder and chief executive, said: “Launching our UK bank has been a long-term strategic priority for Revolut . . . 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.”
He added: “This is a vital step in our mission to build the world’s first truly global bank.”
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Revolut secured a $75 billion (€65 billion) valuation from investors in its latest funding round last year, even without having a full banking licence.
Its rise has posed a challenge to more traditional lenders such as Barclays and NatWest because of its slick banking app and ability to draw in a younger generation of customers.
Barclays chief CS Venkatakrishnan said last year that Revolut had benefited from its lack of a UK licence, which meant it did not have the same obligations to depositors as fully regulated firms.
Revolut said that as a UK payment service provider, and now a licensed bank, it “has always abided by the same regulatory and consumer protection standards as any traditional bank or other financial institution”.
The digital bank has also been granted authorisation to provide consumer credit services to its UK customers, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s register.
That approval opens the door for Revolut to launch a credit card in the UK, two years after it applied for a consumer credit licence in a separate move to its banking licence application.
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The green light from its home regulator has been seen as a gateway to winning similar approvals from watchdogs in other countries and the delay was a significant barrier to the group’s global international expansion plans.
Overseas regulators’ likely reliance on the PRA’s approval as Revolut’s home regulator meant that the UK watchdog was cautious before granting the licence, according to people familiar with the process.
The company said last week that it had applied for a US banking licence, a process that is expected to be smoothed by the Trump administration’s openness to new entrants into the regulated banking system.
The PRA declined to comment.
