Revolut is continuing its global expansion by applying for a bank charter in the US. The fintech sees this as the next step in “building the world’s first truly global banking platform”.
In addition to this, Revolut has also appointed Cetin Duransoy as US CEO, taking over from Sid Jajodia. The company says that Jajodia will now become its Global Chief Banking Officer.
Revolut currently has over 70 million users around the world and is valued at over $75 billion. It now has its sights on reaching 100 million users, and the US is an important part of this vision – hence applying for the bank charter
Revolut points to a number of advantages that a US bank charter will afford it:
- Full ownership of the customer experience: Allows Revolut to build better products faster and provide additional value directly to customers.
- Nationwide reach under one regulatory framework: Revolut will be able to operate seamlessly across all 50 states under federal regulatory oversight.
- Direct access to payment rails: Allows Revolut to connect directly to systems like Fedwire and ACH, which will improve speed, reliability, and cost efficiency.
- Full-scale lending and new revenue streams: Enables Revolut to directly offer personal loans and credit cards, unlocking net interest margin (NIM) and access to core banking revenues.
- FDIC Insurance: Enables Revolut to directly offer insured deposits to customers in the U.S.
Commenting on the news, Revolut Co Founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky said:
The United States is a key pillar of our global growth strategy. Filing for a national bank charter is a major milestone toward our vision of building the world’s first truly global banking platform. This charter will give us the direct control needed to innovate faster and deliver the Revolut experience to millions more Americans as we move toward our goal of 100 million customers.
In its announcement, Revolut says:
Duransoy brings over two decades of tech, payments, and finance industry experience to the U.S. CEO post. He most recently served as the U.S. CEO of Raisin, a leading fintech marketplace. In this role he scaled Raisin’s platform to 90+ bank and credit union partners. Prior to his CEO role at Raisin, Duransoy held senior leadership banking and payments roles at Capital One and VISA.
The company adds: “As of March 2026 Revolut operates in 40 markets globally, offering a range of payment services including money transfers and currency exchange across borders between Revolut users, among other services. Securing a U.S. bank license soon after scaling our operations in Mexico, would mark significant progress on Revolut’s goal to expand into 30 new markets by 2030 and reach 100 million customers by mid 2027. Recent milestones include launching banking operations in Mexico, securing a payments license in India, securing an in-principle payments license in the UAE, and the opening of Revolut’s new Global HQ in London”.
