Revolut applies for US banking licence

The move follows Revolut's recent decision to exit the Canadian banking market, after a two-year beta trial without a banking licence failed to make a dent in the dominance of the Big Four incumbent banks.

Revolut currently offers financial services in the US through a relationship with FDIC-insured Metropolitan Commercial Bank. The firm says having its own bank charter would enable it to offer a broader range of products, including overdraft protection, loans and deposit accounts.

“A US banking licence would ultimately enable us to provide US customers with all the essential financial products and services they can expect from their primary bank including loans and deposits,” Revolut co-founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky says. “We’re on a mission to build the world’s first global financial superapp, and pursuing a US banking licence is an integral part of the journey.”

Revolut has been operational in the US retail market for a year, and is now launching its business banking across all 50 states. Revolut Business allows companies to sign-up for multi-currency accounts, issue physical and virtual corporate cards, and make free money transfers in 29 currencies.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are massively underserved in the US, and we want to empower them with the tools to grow and scale globally,” Storonsky says. “Tackling fragmented processes, high fees, and other business banking pain points, we built an end-to-end solution that saves business owners time and resources to focus on what really matters - running their business.”

Since launching in the UK in 2015, Rveolut has amassed more than 13 million retail customers and 500,000 business clients. The company currently holds an EU banking licence, and in January kick-started the process to obtain a banking licence in the UK following the UK's exit from the European Union.