Revolut, led by CEO Nik Storonsky, is pursuing a strategy to become a global bank by focusing on customer acquisition and fee-based services, rather than heavily relying on traditional lending. The company recently received conditional approval for a US banking charter and a full banking license in the UK, moving it closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first "truly global" bank. Despite these regulatory advancements, analysts like John Cronin express skepticism about Revolut's banking capabilities, noting that its loan book is "very modest" compared to its overall balance sheet.
Revolut's business model starkly contrasts with traditional banks. In the past year, 76% of its revenue came from fee-based services such as card payments, foreign exchange transactions, and cryptocurrency trading, as opposed to interest income from lending. For comparison, traditional UK retail banks generate about 70% of their revenue from interest income. JPMorgan Chase analysts noted that Revolut makes approximately £66 per consumer annually, significantly less than Monzo's £101, Starling's £204, and the £300-£400 earned by traditional UK banks.
The fintech currently boasts over 70 million customers across 40 countries, surpassing the combined scale of several other neobanks and approaching that of JPMorgan Chase. Revolut's 2025 annual report recorded 68.3 million retail customers and over 750,000 business customers. The company aims to reach 100 million customers by mid-2027. While it made £1.7 billion in pretax profits last year from £4.5 billion in revenues, its total credit portfolio was only £2.2 billion, an increase of 120% from 2024 but still a low base.
Revolut intends to leverage its new banking licenses to offer more traditional banking products like consumer credit, overdrafts, and credit cards in the UK, and explore business lending. However, its US banking license application indicates a continued focus on digital assets and payments rather than prioritizing lending. The company's strategy is to build a large customer base and a profitable fee-based business before sustainably expanding into lending, acknowledging that building the necessary underwriting expertise and capital for large-scale lending will be a multi-year endeavor.
