Having finally secured its UK banking licence, Revolut is hiring staff and testing its systems as it aims to move millions of customers to its new bank entity this summer.
Last July, after an unusually-long three year process, Revolut secured its UK banking licence, paving the way for the fintech giant to start offering new products such as loans, overdrafts and mortgages.
Since then, the firm has been in the ‘mobilisation’ stage, sometimes referred to as ‘Authorisation with Restrictions’, a common step for many new banks in the UK that usually takes about 12 months.
Revolut UK CEO Francesca Carlesi has revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that the bank entity has been staffing up, hiring for roles such as regulatory reporting analysts and financial risk controllers.
The banking unit has seen its headcount go from 35 to over 100 since last summer, with plans to double this again by the end of the year.
In a separate interview with the Wall Street Journal, Carlesi says: “My main strategic focus is making Revolut the primary bank for everybody in the UK.”
However, the firm is already looking further afield. Revolut already has around a million customers in the US, through a deal with Missouri-based Lead Bank. But the firm could weigh a more concerted push, noting that the country has not yet seen the kind of digital challenger surge witnessed in the UK and Europe.
Ultimately, the fintech aims to be like Amazon, a global app available everywhere, but for financial services, she tells the WSJ.
Finally, with a 2026 IPO widely rumoured to be in the offing, Carlesi says Revolut is well-capitalised and "can prepare for this properly and pick the right moment".