Revolut to launch US bank in 2027, says US boss

Revolut plans to begin operating its US bank next year, says its new US boss, and is gearing up to offer customers FDIC-insured deposits, credit products, and access to cryptocurrencies.

Revolut, Europe’s most valuable private company, valued at $75bn, applied for a US banking licence in March this year, as it looks to rapidly expand in the world’s biggest economy.

Positive signs

While Revolut is still awaiting a decision on its licence submission from US regulators, sources close to Revolut say the neobank is confident it will be successful.

They cite two reasons for this: one, Revolut is working closely with the relevant regulatory bodies, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), through the process.

Secondly, the current US regulatory environment, under President Trump, is looking more favourably on new banking licence approvals.

Revolut's new US CEO, former Visa executive and US CEO of German digital bank Raisin, Cetin Duransoy, appointed in March this year, says Revolut will launch its bank in the US in 2027, which will be headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Revolut US offer

Revolut, which launched in the US in 2020, currently offers US customers services including pre-paid cards, multi-currency accounts, international transfers and remittances. Its services are offered through partner banks.

Winning a licence will allow Revolut, which has over 75m retail customers globally, to go it alone and present new revenue streams.

In an email interview, Duransoy says Revolut is gearing up to offer FDIC-insured deposits, loans, credit cards, as well as access to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies to its US customers.

The US is a largely credit-driven market, so Revolut will be able to benefit from credit interchange fees to potentially offer customers travel perks and other perks.

Another advantage of the licence, says Duransoy, is that Revolut “will also be able to go to market faster, providing customers with the most up-to-date products and technology”.

Spurring growth

Many of Revolut’s existing US customers- over one million retail and tens of thousands of business customers- have experienced Revolut in other markets, be it Europe, Asia or South America.

Revolut has earmarked a $500m spend on US expansion (across capital, people and marketing). It is hoped this spend, coupled with the cache of the licence, will spur growth.

Revolut will initially target retail and business customers wanting multiple currencies, with Revolut offering services in more than 30 currencies, such as dollars or Latin American currencies.

In the US, where Revolut employs more than 100 people and where it also has an office in New York, customers will have access to ATM networks, but Revolut will not have any branches.

Marketing offensive

In 2024, Revolut co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky told Harry Stebbings’ 20VC podcast “not yet” when asked if the Revolut brand was strong in the US.

He said: “But we will get there as soon as we get a banking licence in the US. I think we can get where we are in Europe in the US.”

Revolut has made a significant play to get its brand visible in the US of late. As well as offering free subway rides to new New York customers, it also inked a high-profile Formula One sponsorship deal with Audi for the 2026 season.

But it's tussling with the dilemma of shifting the perception of its brand from edgy startup to a brand that feels as trusted as traditional banks, without wanting to lose what made it successful in the first place.

Competition

Revolut, which won its long-awaited UK banking licence earlier this year, is unlikely to have its own way in the US. Another UK-headquartered challenger bank, Monzo, retreated from the US this year, as previously did German challenger bank N26.

The US is also a patchwork of regulations and rules, and Revolut is going up against a quartet of banking giants, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, boasting sleek digital offerings.

Then there are well-funded domestic challenger banks like SoFi and Chime, while overseas challengers like Wise, Nubank and Bunq are also now making their US plays.

Duransoy says: “What we believe, however, is that Revolut offers a genuinely different proposition. For Americans with international ties, frequent travellers, and the underserved, that is a compelling offer that no one else can match at our scale.”