UK Fintech Revolut Applies for European Bank License
London-based fintech Revolut is the latest European startup to apply for a banking license, the company said today.
Revolut, which offers pre-paid cards to its customers, is hoping that the move will draw customers away from incumbent banks. Revolut expects to receive the license in the first half of 2018. It applied for the license through the central bank of Lithuania.
The startup will roll out its banking services, which will include current accounts and credit lines, to customers in Lithuania first. Estonia and Latvia will be next, before the company moves on to the UK, France, Germany, and others in the European Union, Revolut said.
Revolut is the latest in a chain of banking startups to do this, following the steps of fellow London-based digital banks Monzo and Starling Bank, as well as Berlin-based N26, which have all secured banking licenses in recent years.
