Revolut’s plan to become a fully licensed bank in the United Kingdom has encountered a new obstacle. The Bank of England has paused the approval of its full banking license due to concerns about the company’s risk management controls. Regulators are worried about whether Revolut can maintain these controls alongside its rapid international expansion.
The Bank of England requires Revolut to commit to building a risk management system that matches its global growth before the license can be approved. Simultaneously, the Prudential Regulation Authority is investigating the fintech’s controls both in the UK and internationally.
Revolut initially received approval for a UK banking license over a year ago. However, it remains in a phase known as mobilization. This stage usually lasts for twelve months and involves deposit restrictions while the company completes its final setup. During this time, regulators assess whether the firm is ready to operate as a full-service bank.
Obtaining a full banking license is crucial for Revolut. It would allow the company to begin lending in the UK and to hold more than fifty thousand pounds in customer deposits. Revolut currently has twelve million customers in the UK.
This delay comes as Revolut, which serves over sixty-five million customers globally, is expanding aggressively beyond Britain. The company already holds a banking license in the European Union and operates in numerous countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, and the United States. It recently launched operations in India and is set to begin operating in Colombia in 2026. The company also has plans to launch in Argentina and Mexico, aims to enter Africa starting with South Africa, and holds an in-principle payments license in the UAE.
Revolut has grand ambitions for future growth. The company aims to reach one hundred million customers by mid-2027 and to enter over thirty new markets by the year 2030.
A Revolut spokesperson stated that the company is progressing through the final stages of mobilization and continues to work constructively with the Prudential Regulation Authority. The spokesperson noted that given Revolut’s global scale, this is the largest and most complex mobilization ever undertaken in the UK. They emphasized that a thorough review is an expected part of the process and that getting it right is more important than rushing to meet a specific deadline.
According to its latest annual report, Revolut reported a net profit of one billion dollars in 2024. Its revenues increased by seventy-two percent to four billion dollars for the year. The company also launched a crypto exchange named Revolut X, which is part of its Wealth division. This division saw its revenue rise by two hundred ninety-eight percent to six hundred forty-seven million dollars in 2024, up from just one hundred fifty-eight million dollars in 2023.