Fintech targets 2027 launch of Stamford, Connecticut-based bank offering deposits, cards and installment lending—pending FDIC, Federal Reserve and final OCC clearances.

Revolut has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a U.S. national bank, advancing the London-based fintech’s effort to operate a fully fledged American bank in 2027. The approval is an important regulatory milestone, but it does not yet permit Revolut to begin banking operations or accept insured deposits in the United States.

The proposed Revolut Bank US would be based in Stamford, Connecticut, and begin with approximately $95 million in capital, according to Cetin Duransoy, Revolut’s U.S. CEO. The company said it expects to offer checking accounts, installment loans, credit cards and foreign-exchange services once the bank is operational.

Regulatory path remains open

Conditional OCC approval clears one major step in the de novo charter process, but Revolut still must obtain deposit-insurance approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., receive the necessary Federal Reserve approval, satisfy conditions attached to the OCC decision and secure final OCC authorization before opening its doors.

“Conditional OCC approval is an important first step towards establishing the proposed Revolut Bank US,” Revolut CEO and co-founder Nik Storonsky said in a statement. “It gives us the foundation to build in the world’s largest financial market and bring the full Revolut experience to millions of Americans.”

Duransoy told Reuters that Revolut now expects approvals from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve as it pursues the planned 2027 launch.

That distinction matters for consumers, creditors and financial-services partners: a conditional approval is not an operating charter. Until the proposed bank receives its remaining regulatory clearances and begins operations, Revolut’s U.S. banking services continue to be provided through Lead Bank, an FDIC-insured partner institution, according to the company.

From partner-bank model to direct lending

A national bank charter would allow Revolut to shift from a partner-bank-dependent model toward direct delivery of core banking products in the U.S. The proposed offering includes consumer credit products—particularly installment loans and credit cards—alongside transaction accounts, deposits and foreign-exchange features.

For the credit and collections industry, the transition is significant because it would make Revolut Bank US a prospective federally regulated originator and servicer of consumer credit, rather than solely a technology platform or marketing layer supported by partner banks. That could ultimately bring Revolut’s underwriting, account-management, hardship, servicing and collections practices more directly within the national-bank compliance framework.

The company has said its longer-term U.S. product ambitions also include stablecoin services. Any such offering would face additional operational, consumer-protection, Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money-laundering and third-party-risk considerations as the company works through the remaining bank-formation process.

Competitive implications

Revolut serves 80 million customers globally and has expanded from its origins as a multicurrency-card provider into a broader financial-services platform. Its U.S. charter bid is part of a wider strategy to own more of the regulated banking stack, potentially enabling it to control customer experience, product development and credit relationships more directly.

The planned 2027 bank launch would position Revolut against both traditional banks and U.S. digital-bank competitors at a time when fintechs continue to seek more durable regulatory structures. A national charter can offer a uniform federal platform, but it also comes with heightened expectations around capital, governance, risk management, fair lending, complaint handling, data security, vendor oversight and consumer compliance.

For creditors, debt buyers and collection agencies, the more immediate takeaway is that no Revolut-originated national-bank portfolio exists yet. But if the company completes its approvals and launches installment lending and card products at scale, it could become a new source of consumer receivables—and a new institution whose servicing and recovery practices will be closely watched under federal banking standards.

What comes next

Revolut’s next hurdles are substantial:

• FDIC approval for deposit insurance.

• Federal Reserve approval associated with the planned banking operation.

• Fulfillment of the OCC’s conditions of approval.

• Final OCC authorization to commence banking operations.

• Execution of the proposed 2027 launch, including capitalization, staffing, systems and consumer-compliance controls.

The OCC decision gives Revolut a path forward, not a completed U.S. bank. Whether the fintech can convert that preliminary regulatory win into an operational, insured national bank will depend on its ability to meet the requirements of all three federal regulators over the coming year.