Banks haven't innovated their consumer offering for decades, making only incremental progress on technology such as mobile banking and contactless payments. Revolut, a digital bank, is among the first in a wave of agile, mobile-first fintech players shaking up the banking sector. Specialising in mobile banking, money remittance and foreign exchange, it offers rates up to ten times cheaper than traditional banks and with a much more attractive and functional user interface, it's much easier to use as well.
Revolut currently has over 15 million users, putting it in the league of Natwest and Lloyds (which it currently partners with to provide current account functions). In 2021 it applied for a banking licence in the UK and the US, which would allow the company to offer full-service current accounts with overdrafts and loans. While this process has been drawn out, if it succeeds it will establish it as a major threat even to the largest institutions such as Barclays and HSBC.
While Revolut has been enjoying massive growth, hiring on average 300 people a month through 2022 and growing from 2100 to 5000 staff, it has struggled with the slow approval of its licences and with a major data breachin 2022 which leaked tens of thousands of customers' details. However if it can push through these issues and restore trust it will be in a good position to build into what its founder describes as "a global bank [giving] access to all financial services".
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
