Revolut makes record profit as wait for banking licence continues

The fintech firm added 12 million customers and made £438 million in profit last year, but still cannot offer credit cards in UK.

Revolut made a record profit in 2023, as the UK fintech giant continues its long wait for a British banking licence (Revolut/PA)

Revolut made a record profit in 2023, as the UK fintech giant continues its long wait for a British banking licence.

The company made a pre-tax profit of £438 million last year, up from a loss of £25 million in 2022, while revenue almost doubled to £1.8 billion.

The London-based group has expanded aggressively in recent years, opening offices in new countries including Brazil and New Zealand in 2023.

It added 12 million customers last year, taking the total to more than 45 million.

The rate of expansion has seen it far outstrip the growth of rival digital money firms like Monzo and Starling, which have roughly nine million and three million customers respectively.

However, unlike Monzo and Starling, Revolut is still not allowed to offer lending products like credit cards, personal loans, or mortgages without a banking licence.

Revolut filed for a licence in 2021, and has repeatedly claimed that approval is just around the corner.

On March 1 2023 it said it would be given the green light “any day now”, but that has still not happened.

Despite its huge customer base, the company is still classified as an electronic money institution, or EMI, in the UK.

It does, however, have a European banking licence, thanks to approval from authorities in Lithuania, allowing it to offer personal loans in France, Germany and Spain. Revolut expanded its loan book to £528 million last year.

We remain committed to our ongoing UK banking licence application in addition to bringing the Revolut app to new markets and customers around the world.

Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut

Revolut nearly doubled its advertising and marketing budget last year to £241 million as part of its plans to continue expanding in Europe.

And last month it announced a deal to move its global headquarters to a newly-refurbished building in Canary Wharf, which it said “will help facilitate the future growth of Revolut’s UK and global operations”.

Chief executive Nikolay Storonsky said: “We remain committed to our ongoing UK banking licence application in addition to bringing the Revolut app to new markets and customers around the world.

“Even as we reached 45 million global retail customers six months into 2024, Revolut remains poised for exponential growth in 2024 and beyond, continuing to redefine the financial services landscape as we’ve known it.”