No businesses applied for a UK banking licence in 2025, raising fresh questions over the government’s ambition to make Britain a fintech hub.
Applications were down from six in 2024, when three businesses submitted applications for the first time and another three resubmitted. City AM first reported the figures, based on a freedom of information request by consultancy Pathlight Associates.
Fintech giant Revolut finally secured its UK baking licence in March after a five-year back-and-forth with regulators. During this period, CEO Nik Storonsky criticised Britain’s “extreme bureaucracy”, saying the country was a difficult place to do business.
To make the UK more attractive to fintechs, UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced that scaling banks and insurers would get bespoke regulatory support, with plans to offer the aid to other fintechs from this year.
The Scaleup Unit gives companies a “clear point of contact” with UK watchdogs, in a bid to make it simpler for them to get responses to regulation questions.
UK regulators may have the opportunity to turn their reputation around with potentially looming licence applications from other fintechs.
Money transfer fintech Wise is reportedly exploring an application to become a fully fledged UK bank, launching a UK current account earlier this month. Buy now pay later unicorn Klarna is also pushing into banking, launching instant peer-to-peer payments in January.
