British fintech Revolut gets full banking licence

Revolut has just been granted a full UK banking licence by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority after a years‑long approval process.

What happened

• The PRA has confirmed that Revolut now holds a full UK banking licence, upgrading the restricted licence it received in July 2024.

• This follows a roughly five‑year back‑and‑forth with UK regulators, after Revolut first applied in 2021 and then operated under a “mobilisation” licence with tight deposit limits and systems‑build conditions.

Why it matters

• A full licence lets Revolut operate as a proper UK bank: it can take fully regulated deposits domestically and expand lending and other balance‑sheet products, putting it into more direct competition with high‑street banks.

• It also strengthens Revolut’s regulatory credibility as it pushes for additional charters, including its newly filed application for a U.S. national bank licence with the OCC and FDIC.