Why is Revolut acquiring a 60-person Turkish bank? Regulatory licenses are the real gold mine.

UK fintech giant Revolut is in talks to acquire Turkey’s digital bank Fups, and the deal appears somewhat unusual. The acquired company has only 60 employees and an initial capital of $81 million, which seems modest. However, a recent report revealed key information: what Revolut values is not Fups’ customers or technology, but the regulatory license it holds.

Why is a license worth acquiring

Fups holds a full digital banking license under Turkey’s branchless banking framework introduced in 2022. The value of this license lies in the fact that it allows Revolut to directly operate legally as a digital bank in Turkey without starting the licensing process from scratch.

For fintech companies, entering new markets usually involves two paths:

• Self-application: A lengthy regulatory process requiring compliance with local capital requirements, standards, and localized operations
• Acquiring an existing license: Rapid market entry, enabling immediate business operations

From Revolut’s perspective, acquiring Fups’ license is much faster than applying from scratch. This is crucial for a fintech company aiming for rapid expansion.

What the Turkish market means for Revolut

Turkey is an emerging market with a population of 100 million, and fintech penetration still has significant growth potential. According to industry reports, Revolut is actively expanding into stablecoins and payments, with stablecoin supply expected to grow by 56% by 2026, reaching $420 billion. Payments and fintech companies (including Revolut) are the main drivers of this growth.

Entering the Turkish market means Revolut can:

• Expand its user base in emerging markets
• Offer stablecoins and cross-border payment services to local users
• Establish a strategic foothold in the Middle East and Eastern Europe

What this trend reflects

This deal signals an important trend in the fintech industry: global expansion has moved from exploration to acceleration. Revolut is no longer content with the European market but is actively penetrating emerging markets.

By acquiring existing licensed institutions rather than building from scratch, fintech companies can significantly speed up their expansion. This strategy has become common in the crypto and digital finance sectors.

Summary

The core logic behind Revolut’s acquisition of Fups is simple: exchange a relatively small investment for a fast pass into the Turkish market. The deal isn’t about Fups’ customers or technology but about the market access granted by that regulatory license. This reflects a more pragmatic attitude among fintech firms in their global expansion—preferring to acquire market positions quickly through mergers and acquisitions rather than building from zero. For those observing the global fintech competitive landscape, such deals are worth noting, as they often signal the next wave of industry expansion.