Revolut Gets Conditional Approval for U.S. Bank Charter

By Katherine HamiltonRevolut received conditional approval to operate as a national bank.The conditional bank charter approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency marks a significant step toward the digital banking platform opening a physical bank, which it aims to do in 2027.Revolut, which is based in London, is now working through remaining applications and approvals with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve and final approval from the Comptroller's office.Once it gains those approvals, Revolut can offer loans, credit cards, deposits and cryptocurrency access to U.S. customers. The company currently has 80 million customers globally.Revolut applied for the charter in March, pivoting from its previous plan to acquire a small nationally chartered U.S. bank to bypass the licensing process.A slew of financial technology companies have applied for banking charters under the Trump administration, which has moved to create an easier environment for fintechs. Among them are Circle, Coinbase and PayPal.Revolut says its goal is to become a global bank, as it is gaining ground as Europe's most valuable startup. It has also obtained bank licenses in France, Australia and the U.K., as well as a payments license in the United Arab Emirates.In July, the company boosted its valuation to $115 billion, up from $75 billion late last year, after launching a secondary share sale at $2,017 a share.Write to Katherine Hamilton at [email protected]