Revolut challenges traditional banks: How the fintech is expanding

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Revolut challenges traditional banks

Banking ambitions gather pace

Revolut became Europe’s most valuable startup after its valuation rose to $115 billion. By that measure, the company is already worth more than Britain’s Barclays and France’s Societe Generale, although it still trails them significantly in the scale of traditional banking operations.

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In 2025, Revolut posted about $2.2 billion in pretax profit, up 57% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 46% over the same period to $6 billion.

Its customer base has also moved closer to those of the world’s largest banks. Revolut now reports 80 million customers, compared with about 84 million for JPMorgan and 41 million for HSBC. In Ireland, according to the company, around 80% of the adult population has a Revolut account.

Licenses open the door to banking services

In March 2026, Revolut received a full banking license in the U.K. after years of waiting. Before that, the company operated under a restricted license and could not fully take deposits or expand lending in the local market.

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The full license allows Revolut to offer U.K. customers bank accounts, loans and other products that were previously available only through partner arrangements or in a limited format. This is especially important for the company because the U.K. remains its home market.

At the same time, Revolut is preparing to launch its own bank in the U.S. In April, the company received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Before it can begin operations, Revolut still needs to complete procedures with the FDIC and the Federal Reserve and secure final regulatory approval.

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Once its U.S. bank is launched, Revolut plans to offer loans, credit cards, insured deposits, multi-currency accounts and cryptocurrency services. The company expects to begin banking operations in the U.S. in 2027.

Crypto becomes part of the strategy

Revolut’s banking expansion is moving in parallel with the development of its crypto products. The company already offers digital asset services and in August 2026 began a phased rollout of its own euro-denominated stablecoin, EURR.

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The token was initially made available to selected customers in Denmark, Poland and Portugal. Revolut plans to expand it to other countries in the European Economic Area. EURR is pegged to the euro, complies with MiCA requirements and initially operates on Ethereum.

The company also plans to support EURR transfers to external wallets and additional blockchain networks. Revolut has also said it is considering stablecoins denominated in other currencies, although it has not yet disclosed specific plans.

Banks are already feeling the pressure

As Revolut expands and grows its customer base, it is increasingly being seen as a direct competitor to traditional banks. According to S&P Global Ratings director Cihan Duran, European bank executives describe Revolut as one of their biggest threats because of its aggressive marketing and rapid growth.

At the same time, the gap in traditional banking operations remains wide. At the end of 2025, Revolut had about $2.8 billion in loans, while its loan-to-deposit ratio stood at just 6%. By comparison, the ratio was around 55% at HSBC and 86% at Societe Generale.

The company earns less per customer than major banks, while average balances in its users’ accounts are also significantly lower. Revolut does not disclose how many customers use it as their primary account, although it said the number of such users increased by 45% in 2025.

The biggest test is still ahead

Revolut has already shown that it can grow its audience quickly and enter markets that large banks have controlled for decades. The next stage will be more difficult: the company will need to turn the scale of its customer base into comparable scale in deposits, lending and other banking services.

The outcome of its global expansion will depend on this. If Revolut can convince more customers to use it as their primary financial service, the gap with traditional banks will narrow. If not, tens of millions of users alone will not make it a full replacement for the world’s largest banking groups.

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