Fintechs have challenged traditional banks in the UK in the customer service product sense, with or without full banking licences.
Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan has suggested fintechs such as Revolut benefit from an uneven playing field, arguing banks and fintechs are held to different standards when it comes to consumer risk management.
Speaking at the FT Global Banking Summit on December 2, Venkatakrishnan noted Revolut still does not have a full UK banking licence, despite being cleared for one in July 2024 by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
Barclays CEO then noted fintechs which operate without full UK banking licence are “free from some of the very important consumer obligations that we have to fulfil”.
These consumer duty obligations require banks such as Barclays to act in good faith, ensure products and services meet appropriate standards, provide effective customer support, and report regularly to regulators.
“I think we should continue to operate with our standards, with our integrity, with our regulation,” said Venkatakrishnan. “If we can marry them, we will be happy.”
How do Revolut operate during mobilisation?
The PRA cleared Revolut for a restricted licence in July 2024 and granted full authorisation on 11 March 2026, about 20 months later. That was the longest mobilisation phase for a newly licensed UK bank, which multiple outlets attributed to Revolut’s size and the complexity of assessing a firm operating in more than 40 markets.
Revolut was in the ‘Mobilisation Phase’ of receiving its full licence until 11 March 2026, which required the fintech to perform consumer duty due diligence requirements and maintain them, but not to the same length as fully licenced banks and other fintechs.
The mobilisation phase required impending licensees to map out its business plan to its lead UK regulator, the PRA in Revolut’s case.
Revolut also had to demonstrate capital and liquidity which met Internal Capital and Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process requirements, accept a £50,000 cap on deposits, and submit to regular monitoring, such as assessments and audits. The PRA removed that deposit cap on full authorisation.
Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky has made it clear it is the company’s “number one priority” to secure a full UK banking licence, but as Venkatakrishnan stated, there are both pros and cons to operating without one. Revolut secured that licence on 11 March 2026.
Do Revolut need a UK banking licence?
Despite operating without a full UK banking licence from its 2015 launch until March 2026, Revolut has still grown into one of the world’s most popular and valuable fintech companies.
The digital bank has more than 70 million global customers and 13 million in the UK, and has established a presence in regions such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
The last several years has seen Revolut also significantly expand its capital and investment as it has reached a $75bn valuation through secondary share sales of employee’s shares and dividends.
Among these benefits of operating without full authorisation, Revolut was able to save on costs as it was not required to hold higher capital requirements, as well as being able to be more agile with some of the customer services it offers as it was not obliged to follow more stringent rules with a full banking licence.
Without full authorisation, deposits held directly with Revolut sat outside FSCS protection. Eligible deposits are now covered up to £120,000 per person.
Revolut could not offer lending as an e-money institution and can now do so under the full licence. Lending is a growing revenue source for UK institutions: outstanding consumer credit loans hit £233bn ($309bn) in October 2024.
