From London to the World: The Ambitions Behind Revolut's $75 Billion Valuation are Coming to Fruition

Original title: Digital Bank Revolut plans to "spend 13 billion dollars over 5 years" to promote global expansion: adding 30 markets and creating 10,000 jobs before 2030.

Original author: Aspen

Source of the original text:

Compiled by: Daisy, Mars Finance

According to a report by Barrons, the digital bank Revolut has made a bold move, announcing an investment of $13 billion over the next five years to drive its global expansion, with the goal of entering 30 new markets by 2030, creating 10,000 jobs, and doubling its workforce.

$13 billion investment reveals ambition

Revolut is a British financial technology company (FinTech) founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, starting with currency exchange and remittance services. Revolut is regarded as a Digital Bank, primarily providing financial services through a mobile app rather than traditional brick-and-mortar banks. Currently, Revolut offers services such as stock, cryptocurrency, and fund trading, with a secondary market valuation of 75 billion USD.

For this $13 billion investment, Revolut stated that it will first focus on the UK ($4 billion), France ($1.2 billion), and the US ($500 million), before gradually entering emerging markets such as Mexico, India, and South Africa. Sid Jajodia, Revolut's banking business head, emphasized that Revolut's cash flow and capital generation capability "is sufficient to be self-sufficient," and does not need to rely on external financing to drive this investment plan.

The US license has become a key challenge.

It is worth mentioning that for Revolut, the United States, as the largest financial market in the world, is both a sweet spot and a tough nut to crack. Sid Jajodia stated that Revolut hopes to obtain a license in the United States by the end of next year, but it needs to overcome many difficulties: the U.S. banking license must pass multiple reviews by institutions such as the Fed, OCC, and FDIC, and the requirements for capital adequacy ratio, anti-money laundering, and risk management are also very strict.

However, in response to this, Revolut has considered two paths after evaluation: one is to acquire a local licensed bank, which would shorten the time to enter the U.S. market; the other is to apply for a license independently, which, although time-consuming and labor-intensive, would allow for more autonomy.

IPO and the New Competition in Digital Finance

It is widely speculated in the industry that Revolut is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO), targeting the US market, and hoping to gain more liquidity and regulatory benefits.

Looking at the entire industry, some analyses indicate that the global fintech market size is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% from 2025, reaching $15.8 trillion by 2033. Among them, embedded finance and mobile wallets will be the fastest-growing areas. With Revolut's large-scale expansion, traditional banks may also be forced to accelerate their digital transformation to meet consumer expectations for financial services in the new generation.