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Revolut

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It has been suggested that Nikolay Storonsky be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2018.
Revolut Ltd
Company typePrivate
IndustryFinTech
Founded1 July 2015; 9 years ago (2015-07-01)
FounderNikolay Storonsky, Vlad Yatsenko
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key peopleNikolay Storonsky (CEO)
Productscurrent accounts, debit cards, insurance, peer-to-peer lending, remittance
Servicespeer-to-peer payments, currency exchange
Number of employees630+ (Dec 2018)
Websitewww.revolut.com

Revolut Ltd is a digital banking alternative that includes a pre-paid debit card (MasterCard or VISA), currency exchange, cryptocurrency exchange (Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ripple (XRP) and peer-to-peer payments. Revolut currently charges no fees for the majority of its services (but for a capped usage), and uses interbank exchange rates for its currency exchange on weekdays, and charge a markup from 0.5% to 1.5% on weekends. The Revolut App gives customers instant access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple by exchanging to/from 25 fiat currencies. However, cryptocurrencies remain locked in the app and cannot be moved to another cryptocurrency wallet.

The London-based startup was founded by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko and currently supports spending and ATM withdrawals in 120 currencies and sending in 26 currencies directly from the mobile app.

The company originally was based in Level39, a financial technology incubator in Canary Wharf, London.

History

Revolut launched to the public in July 2015 with the aim of "building a fair and frictionless platform to use and manage money around the world" by removing hidden fees and offering interbank currency rates. Nikolay Storonsky, a former trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, said in an interview with Forbes that:

I thought of the business three years ago. I was travelling a lot and wasting hundreds of pounds on foreign transaction fees and exchange rate commissions which just didn’t feel right. As someone with a financial background I knew exactly the rates I should be getting. As a solution, I tried to find a multi-currency card and was later told it wasn’t possible. But I was determined to make it work.

Alongside Vladyslav Yatsenko, former Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank developer, Storonsky set up Revolut and raised around $3.5 million.

On 8 February 2017, Revolut launched UK current accounts, enabling its customers to get a personal IBAN. In July 2017, Revolut started doing the same for personal EUR IBANs.

On 26 April 2018, Revolut announced that it had raised a further $250 million in a funding round led by Hong Kong-based DST Global, reaching a total valuation of $1.7 billion and thus becoming a unicorn.

As of June 2018 the company claimed to have over 2 million users.

In November 2018, the company has secured licences to operate in Singapore and Japan. It expects to launch its service in Q1 2019. In Singapore, the company was granted a Remittance License by the Monetary Authority and a Stored Value Facility approval — these two things combined let Revolut  users hold money as well as send and spend money. In Japan, the company has been authorized to operate by Japan’s Finance Service Agency.

In December, 2018, Revolut secured a Specialised Bank licence from European Central Bank, facilitated by the Bank of Lithuania. Having secured a Specialised Bank licence, Revolut is authorised to accept deposits and offer consumer credits. The main difference between a specialised and a full-range bank is that the former is not authorised to provide investment services. At the same time, an Electronic Money Institution licence was issued by the Bank of Lithuania.

References

  1. "Revolut company profile". AngelList. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  2. Dillet, Romain (20 July 2015). "Revolut Raises $2.3 Million For Its Mobile Foreign Exchange Service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. "Revolut on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  4. "Revolut: Not necessarily cheaper than an(y) other Mastercard". Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. "Weekend exchange-rate surcharge clarification". Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  6. "Banking App for Travelers – Revolut Converts Currencies Minus the Fees! | Kevin Kyburz". Kevin Kyburz. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  7. "Revolut FAQ". Revolut. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  8. "Are You Ready To Give Fintech A Try?". Forbes. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  9. "About Revolut". Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  10. "Revolut Deck". SlideShare. 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  11. ^ Salter, Philip. "London Fintech Entrepreneur Talking About A Revolution". Forbes.
  12. Dillet, Romain (8 February 2017). "Revolut launches current accounts and a chatbot". Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  13. Munford, Monty (26 April 2018). "Revolut launches current accounts and a chatbot". Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  14. "Fintech start-up Revolut grabs 2 million users and plans to launch commission-free trading service". CNBC. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  15. "UK fintech start-up Revolut reaches 2 million users". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  16. "Revolut is ready to launch in Singapore and Japan". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  17. "Revolut granted specialised bank and electronic money institution licences". www.lb.lt. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  18. "Lithuania licence lets Revolut launch banking products". Financial Times. Retrieved 2018-12-13. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

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