The UK CEO of Revolut today underscored the challenger bank’s ambitions of switching from “disruptor” bank to being the primary bank account of its customers.
Francesca Carlesi, Revolut UK, CEO, said
"We want to move from being a disruptor to being a primary banking partner. It’s about deepening the relationship with our customers, it’s about not just having a Revolut card in your wallet when you travel but making sure Revolut comes top of mind for any financial needs."
Carlesi, who was appointed in December 2023, also shed light on Revolut's preparations to become a fully licensed bank in the UK, saying it “involved a lot of hard work”.
The likes of Revolut, which has over 50m customers globally and over 10m in the UK, and its challenger bank rivals have attracted millions of customers but some have questioned how many of their customers use them as primary accounts, into which their incomes are paid.
Nik Storonsky, Revolut CEO, last year said that around 10m of Revolut’s 50m customers were daily active users, and that the goal was to increase this number to between 30m and 40m in three years.
Carlesi said today:
"Our main strategic thrust going forward is about primary banking, so not only having more customers but more customers that are active across different products."
In July last year, Revolut secured a UK banking licence – with “restrictions” – more than three years after Europe’s most valuable fintech firm lodged its application with regulators. The restrictions or so called “mobilisation" stage can last as long as 12 months, after which Revolut will become a fully operational bank which can lend to its UK customers.
On Revolut exiting the mobilisation phase, Carlesi said: “We are not in a rush, we want to do things properly.” She said Revolut had been building its team to help transition to become a bank, and stressed the importance of “being overly transparent with regulators”.
She said customers wouldn't notice any change once it became a bank, that products and services would remain the same, and that it was not migrating customers.
She said:
"In reality, we have tested already many things. Nothing goes live if not after several rounds of testing."
Carlesi, who was speaking at the MoneyLive Summit in London, stressed the importance of Revolut garnering a UK banking licence.
She added:
"It is really important I think globally that we do establish ourselves in the UK to then be able to expand across the world."
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