Revolut's Cross-Border Growth Faces Regulatory Tests

In 2025, the European Central Bank temporarily restricted Revolut from launching new products as it reviewed whether the company’s controls could keep up with its growth. In the United Kingdom, regulators delayed Revolut’s full banking licence for years while assessing whether its controls and financial-crime prevention measures suited a business of its size. The scrutiny comes as Revolut expands into markets with different regulators and licensing requirements.

Growth Across Markets

Nik Storonsky, Revolut’s founder and chief executive officer, said the company aims to build a global bank while moving at the pace of a technology company. He spoke at Revolut’s new Paris headquarters, at 116 Rue Réaumur, where construction continues and offices will take months to complete.

Founded in 2015, Revolut set out to reduce the cost of paying in foreign currencies while travelling. It later expanded into payments, cards, foreign exchange, subscriptions and investing. Today, the company offers credit cards, savings accounts, loans, insurance and investment funds.

Revolut had around 10 million customers in 2019, the first year for which it published results, and recorded a loss of nearly £100 million ($130 million). Six years later, it reported a profit of £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) and more than 80 million customers. Eleven business lines each generated more than £100 million in annual revenue, while interest made up 21.6% of total income.

Storonsky said Revolut’s centralized systems can adapt to local markets and scale across countries. Traditional banks, by contrast, often rely on legacy systems, sometimes outsourced, and were designed to operate in a single country. When they expand, he said, acquisitions can leave them with systems that don’t communicate. He called it “almost impossible to get something new off the ground” at legacy banks, citing limited systems and internal processes designed to slow initiatives amid heavy regulation.

Regulatory Controls and Lending

About 200 engineers work on regulatory-compliance tools, Storonsky said. Another team of about 250 engineers, data scientists and product staff handles financial-crime regulation. The company uses artificial intelligence in engineering, customer support, compliance and financial-crime prevention. Storonsky expects the technology to affect every area, particularly digital businesses.

Revolut has kept lending relatively limited. Its loan-to-deposit ratio was around 4%, Storonsky said, and he didn’t think it would exceed 10%, 15% or 20%. He said Revolut aims to stay safe and avoid risky business. Lending, he added, faces heavier regulation than lifestyle products; regulators and society tend to prefer less risky lending, even when innovation could improve efficiency.

Storonsky pointed to Europe’s many countries and regulators as a barrier to producing more companies like Revolut. He contrasted Europe with the United States, which he described as a single market, and with Silicon Valley’s cycle of entrepreneurs reinvesting in startups. Lending products are largely commoditized, he said. He cited Klarna’s buy-now-pay-later product as perhaps the latest innovation in the field, adding that it, too, became heavily regulated.

Licences and Expansion

According to Storonsky, Revolut operates in Japan, has launched a pilot in India and holds a banking licence in Australia. He described China as highly competitive, while Indonesia and Malaysia are underdeveloped markets where the company has plans to expand. New Zealand could be its next launch.

Revolut considers acquisitions to attract customers, obtain products that are difficult to develop internally or secure a banking licence. Storonsky said it often finds it cheaper to build products or acquire customers itself. He cited Turkey, where new players were forced to buy a bank because authorities had stopped issuing licences as they sought to consolidate the banking industry. Revolut recently received central-bank approval to acquire Banco Cetelem in Argentina.

Revolut remains privately held. Storonsky said a stock-market listing was unlikely before 2028. That summer, a secondary share sale valued the company at about $115 billion. A public offering could let customers participate in the company’s growth and serve as marketing, he said.