Revolut Considers Obtaining A Banking License In Australia

The London-based firm, Revolut, is considering obtaining a banking license in Australia. This comes after the crypto-friendly fintech platform launched international payments-focused business accounts for clients in Australia. However, the fintech company has been waiting for the same license in the United Kingdom since 2021.

Nonetheless, Revolut offers various fiat payment services for clients in Europe and Australia. Additionally, it offers crypto payment services, including buying and selling multiple crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and XRP. However, in other regions, it offers access to crypto staking.

Revolut’s Australian unit CEO, Matt Baxby, spoke with the Australians on May 17, noting that the platform’s significant goal is to facilitate an app or platform where clients can manage their entire financial lives in one place. Baxby further asserted that:

A bank license is still very much part of our plans. To be held to that regulatory standard would give our consumers confidence for the long haul and enable products that are in demand from our customers. We’re working our way through that, and it’s a vital part of our plans overall.

Targeting Aussie Businesses

The revelation aligned with Revolut’s launch of business accounts in Australia. The multi-currency business accounts will allow Aussie clients to exchange up to 75,000 AUD monthly. However, the accounts come with physical and digital cards. Notably, it has real-time spending reports and enables multiple users to manage them.

While Revolut has around 100,000 business customers across Europe, it witnessed significant demand from Australian small to medium enterprises for global payment solutions. According to James Gibson, the general manager at Revolut Business, the platform has around 100,000 business clients around Europe.

Gibson further stipulated to the Australian that:

We hear a lot from them that they want a solution that allows them to do business overseas. And we have a lot of European customers who have Australian subsidiaries and vice versa, so we think we’re going to get quite a lot of traction with that.

Commenting on Mikko Salovaara, Revolut's CFO departure Mr. Gibson said – “Overall I can say we are pretty stable,”
“Mikko resigned for personal reasons, and the business wishes him well.”

— Max Karpis (@maxkarpis) May 17, 2023

However, Revolut’s move adds to its accounts in Australia. Apart from offering traditional financial services and international transfers, it notably provides access to crypto, stock, and commodity investing.

Revolut Profitability

The platform was founded in 2015. Revolut became profitable in 2022, with a pretax profit of 59.1 million euros on revenue of 636.2 million euros. The profitability came a year after with a pretax loss of £205 million.

Earlier this year, the valuation of the Fintech firm was slashed by 46% to $17.7 billion by Schroders, one of Revolut’s steadfast investors. It came down from $33 billion, when the fintech firm was evaluated at the time of funding around 2021.