Fintech large information utility with US regulators because it seeks direct entry to fee rails and lending revenues.
Revolut has formally utilized for a nationwide banking licence within the US, marking a big escalation within the fintech’s long-running try to interrupt into the world’s largest monetary market.
The London-headquartered firm confirmed immediately (5 March) that it had submitted an utility to the Workplace of the Comptroller of the Foreign money (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC) to ascertain Revolut Financial institution US, NA, a regulated banking entity able to working throughout all 50 states.
The transfer comes as the corporate seeks to rework itself from a payments-led fintech into what founder and CEO Nik Storonsky has described as a “really international banking platform”.
“America is a crucial pillar of our international development technique,” Storonsky stated. “Making use of for a nationwide banking licence represents a serious step towards our imaginative and prescient of constructing the primary really international banking platform.”
Alongside the regulatory submitting, Revolut additionally introduced the appointment of Cetin Duransoy as CEO of its US operations. Duransoy, previously US CEO of Berlin-based fintech Raisin, succeeds Sid Jajodia, who will transfer into the position of International Chief Banking Officer.
Why the US licence issues
Acquiring a US banking licence would permit Revolut to essentially reshape its enterprise mannequin within the nation.
At current, many fintechs working within the US depend on associate banks to supply regulated companies. A nationwide constitution would as a substitute permit Revolut to function immediately below federal supervision, giving it management over deposit-taking, lending, and entry to key fee infrastructure.
Direct entry to techniques corresponding to Fedwire and the Automated Clearing Home (ACH) community would permit the corporate to attach extra immediately with the core rails of the US monetary system, doubtlessly enhancing transaction pace and lowering reliance on intermediaries.
The licence would additionally permit Revolut to supply FDIC-insured deposits and increase into lending merchandise corresponding to private loans and bank cards, opening the door to interest-based income streams that conventional banks depend on.
A protracted-awaited push into America
Revolut’s US ambitions have been in movement for a number of years however have progressed cautiously as the corporate constructed out its regulatory footprint globally.
Cost Knowledgeable beforehand reported in January that the corporate was getting ready to pursue a US banking licence as a part of a broader worldwide development technique. The newest submitting represents the primary formal affirmation of that plan.
The timing displays each Revolut’s scale and its evolving technique. The corporate now experiences greater than 70 million clients globally, processing over one billion transactions per 30 days throughout its private and enterprise accounts.
In November 2025, Revolut accomplished a secondary share sale that valued the corporate at $75bn, making it one of the worthwhile personal know-how corporations on the earth.
With that valuation has come elevated stress to increase past its authentic European strongholds and construct sustainable banking revenues at scale.
The appointment of Duransoy additionally indicators that Revolut is intensifying its give attention to the American market.
Duransoy brings greater than 20 years of expertise in funds and banking, together with senior roles at Capital One and Visa. Throughout his tenure at Raisin, he helped construct a platform connecting greater than 90 associate banks and credit score unions within the US.
His appointment displays the operational complexity of navigating the US regulatory panorama, the place federal and state authorities typically overlap and fintech licensing has traditionally been difficult.
A stepping stone to digital greenback ambitions?
The US banking licence might additionally play a task in Revolut’s longer-term ambitions in digital belongings, together with its reported plans to problem a stablecoin.
Over the previous 12 months, Revolut has been steadily increasing its crypto providing, which already permits clients to commerce and maintain a variety of digital belongings inside its app. Trade experiences in 2025 advised the fintech was exploring the launch of its personal stablecoin as a part of a broader push into blockchain-based funds infrastructure.
Whereas the corporate has not publicly confirmed a timeline for such a product, acquiring a US banking licence would supply a considerably stronger regulatory basis ought to it select to maneuver ahead with a dollar-pegged digital foreign money.
The regulatory surroundings round stablecoins in america can also be evolving. Policymakers in Washington have been debating laws that may convey stablecoin issuers below bank-like oversight, together with necessities round reserves, liquidity and supervision.
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