Revolut has scrapped plans to buy a US lender and instead apply for its own American banking licence, reports say.
Europe’s most valuable fintech had previously sought to acquire a US bank as a means of attaining a US licence, but is now betting on the Trump administration’s light-touch regulatory approach to win approval on its own, the Financial Times reports.
Citing people familiar with the situation, the paper reported that Revolut had been in discussion with US officials about applying for a licence through the Office for the Comptroller of the Currency.
Founded in 2015, Revolut is Europe’s most valuable fintech and has over 60m users worldwide. It’s also making a global push, with plans to expand in countries such as the UAE, Peru, Turkey and Mexico.
In the US, it’s expecting the application process to be rapid due to President Donald Trump’s deregulatory process. However, it’s a stepchange for the fintech, which was seeking to acquire a US bank to obtain the licence according to reports in August.
A takeover could be tricky as it might require Revolut to keep a physical branch open and would involve engagement with US regulators.
A Revolut spokesperson told Sifted: "The US market is critical for Revolut’s global growth strategy and our long-term plan is to establish a bank in the U.S. That said, we continue to actively explore all options including a de novo bank license application."
Revolut isn’t the only UK neobank to make moves stateside. SME lender OakNorth bought the Michigan-based Community Unity Bank last March and in June last year, Revolut rival Starling told Sifted it’s seeking to obtain a banking licence in the US.
