Revolut cards are seen in this illustration taken in Krakow, Poland on March 29, 2024.
Jakub Borzycki | Noor Photo | Getty Images
British fintech company Revolut announced Thursday that it has been granted a preliminary banking license with restrictions from the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority, ending a three-year wait.
The London-headquartered company has had time to build out its UK banking infrastructure and operations before the official launch.
Revolut first applied for a banking license in 2021, but faced lengthy delays.
“Today’s announcement is a significant step forward for Revolut and our customers,” said Francesca Carlisi, Revolut’s UK CEO, in a statement. “Being a UK bank is a huge responsibility and we will work tirelessly to deliver products and services that improve the financial lives of everyone who uses Revolut.”
A UK banking licence will allow Revolut to take customer deposits and issue products such as loans and credit cards. It joins a group of other challenger banks such as Monzo and Starling, which aim to take on traditional banking players such as Barclays.
One of the key issues surrounding the delay in obtaining a banking license was that Revolut’s share structure was not compliant with UK Prudential Regulation Authority rules. The UK regulators had required the company to consolidate its six share classes into ordinary shares.
Revolut has since resolved the issue, reaching an agreement to restructure its ownership with Japanese tech giant SoftBank, CNBC previously reported.
The banking licence comes after Revolut’s financials returned to a stronger position in 2023. The company this month reported a pre-tax profit for 2023 of £438m ($545m), after a pre-tax loss of £25.4m in 2022. Group revenues rose 95% to £1.8bn, compared with £920m in 2022.
— CNBC's Ryan Brown contributed to this report.
