The most aggressive financial institution in Europe | FAZ | EUROtoday

Nik Storonsky would not lack self-confidence, though he generally appears a bit reserved when making public appearances. The conventional banks don’t have any probability in opposition to Revolut, says Storonsky. “Our product is so much better. It’s impossible to compete against us,” claimed the 41-year-old founder and CEO of the digital financial institution when he just lately inaugurated the brand new headquarters within the coronary heart of London’s monetary district. The Revolut app is “the most successful digital banking model in the world,” enthuses the brand new Western Europe boss Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier.

Looking on the numbers, it is laborious to disagree. Since its founding in 2015, the fintech firm has shaken up the banking world. Currently, greater than fifteen million customers are added yearly. There are actually greater than 65 million prospects in forty international locations. Storonsky’s objective: He desires 100 million prospects in 100 international locations by mid-2027. “We want to become the first truly global bank,” he says. The mission is “simple”. Hardly some other firm within the monetary sector is working so laborious on enlargement and internationalization.

The aggressively rising competitor is spreading worry and terror amongst conventional banks and fintech opponents. No different digital financial institution is rising so shortly. It is primarily younger, price-conscious prospects who select Revolut’s monetary app. In Germany, the neobank has elevated its variety of prospects to 2.5 million, rising by 60 p.c yearly. By 2027 there needs to be 5 million prospects. “We have very big ambitions for Germany, it is one of the most important and exciting markets in Europe,” says Cossa-Dumurgier in an interview with FAS. She has been heading the brand new European headquarters in Paris because the summer season.

Western Europe is the financial institution’s focus, however it’s now increasing far past that. Twelve million prospects use the Revolut app in Great Britain, and several other million every in France, Ireland, Spain and Italy. But Revolut can be lively in Australia and Brazil. The financial institution just lately launched in Mexico and can subsequent enter the Indian market. No different financial institution is increasing as aggressively as Revolut.

In 2019, 4 years after it was based, Revolut had already gained ten million prospects. In 2022 there have been a complete of 20 million. The conventional banks in Germany, too, that are battling their “legacy” – the costly department networks, generally outdated IT constructions and the excessive variety of workers – can hardly sustain with the agile monetary app. “A very serious competitor is emerging,” says a Frankfurt banking knowledgeable. Cossa-Dumurgier believes that she will significantly poach prospects from financial savings banks and direct banks. Postbank and Sparda-Bank additionally must arm themselves.

Revolut has additionally turn into a threatening competitor for the German on-line banks N26 and Trade Republic. According to current info, the Berlin neobank N26 has 4.8 million lively prospects in 24 European international locations, however the monetary regulator Bafin has repeatedly restricted development as a result of deficiencies in threat administration. Trade Republic serves round ten million prospects. But development is considerably slower than Revolut.

The London-based fintech’s meteoric rise can be mirrored in its exceptionally excessive valuation. The financial institution, which isn’t listed on the inventory alternate, was valued at 75 billion {dollars} (round 65 billion euros) in the latest financing spherical. This makes Revolut by far probably the most priceless fintech firm in Europe. For comparability: Trade Republic was just lately valued at 12.5 billion euros. In the summer season of 2024, Revolut’s valuation was solely $45 billion. The new milestone displays “the enormous development of the last twelve months,” says Storonsky.

75 billion {dollars} – that’s greater than the market worth of banking giants akin to Nat West and Lloyds in main banks or Deutsche Bank. Revolut was briefly much more priceless than Barclays Bank. And that regardless of – or exactly as a result of – the fintech is so lean by way of personnel. Revolut solely employs simply over 10,000 individuals, Barclays has round 85,000 worldwide and Deutsche Bank has just below 90,000. A small variety of workers means huge price financial savings.

There is nice curiosity from buyers. The US asset supervisor Fidelity and the chip firm Nvidia, which has a superb nostril for tech developments, took half within the newest spherical of financing. The Japanese Softbank was one of many early buyers. If Storonsky manages to extend the valuation to $150 billion, he’ll obtain a bonus price a number of billion {dollars}, it’s stated, though the main points will not be public. He could possibly be in for a windfall like Elon Musk at Tesla.

Russian-born Storonsky and his Ukrainian co-founder Vlad Yatsenko have already turn into multi-billionaires. No different start-up founder has achieved such a meteoric rise because the Revolut boss. He was born in a small city close to Moscow in 1984 and was nationwide swimming champion as a young person. After learning physics and finishing a grasp’s diploma in economics at a college in Moscow, Storonsky moved to London in 2004. For a couple of years he labored within the metropolis as a securities dealer for Lehman Brothers, and after the monetary disaster he went to Credit Suisse. At the age of 30, he arrange his personal enterprise and developed the concept for Revolut with Yatsenko.

For the primary six months he labored virtually continuous in a Starbucks espresso store, “until I couldn’t stand the smell in my clothes anymore,” he stated when he opened the brand new headquarters in a classy high-rise in London’s Canary Wharf monetary district a couple of weeks in the past. The new seat can be a present of power. It could not be extra consultant. When hundreds of bankers step out of Canary Wharf tube station each morning, they give the impression of being instantly on the Revolut brand. Deutsche Bank may also transfer into the identical constructing. This appears symbolic: the standard German bankers will likely be sitting beneath Revolut sooner or later.

The neobank has been worthwhile for greater than 4 years. In the final monetary 12 months, the financial institution achieved revenue earlier than taxes of 1.4 billion {dollars}. That was a rise of 149 p.c over the earlier 12 months, pushed by the booming crypto buying and selling enterprise. Initially, the monetary platform attracted prospects primarily by cash transfers and low-cost forex exchanges. An affordable checking account and a financial institution card attracted customers. Trading in crypto belongings has been potential by way of the Revolut app since 2017, and shares and ETFs had been added in 2024.

The product vary is rising quickly. “We have pioneered money market accounts, lifestyle products, shared accounts, elite offerings such as Revolut Ultra, eSIM and much more. Over the last decade we have brought more innovation to market than any other European bank,” claims a Revolut spokesperson.

Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier, who was beforehand a supervisor at BNP Paribas for a few years, is now establishing the brand new Western European headquarters in Paris. Revolut speaks of an funding of a couple of billion euros. Just over 400 workers are anticipated to work on the Western Europe headquarters. In Germany, the financial institution solely has a small workforce based mostly in Berlin, and round fifty new workers are at present being employed. Every small financial savings financial institution has that a lot.

Revolut’s constructions are extraordinarily lean, which suggests the financial institution can maintain prices low. Basically, your complete firm primarily consists of an IT platform on which new merchandise are consistently being arrange. Newly acquired prospects solely imply a couple of further bits and bytes; they solely incur low prices, for instance for complicated promoting campaigns, particularly on social media. Revolut additionally desires to introduce particular merchandise within the German market. “Overdrafts, for example, are a very German specialty,” says Cossa-Dumurgier.

Revolut will steadily additionally wish to provide basic mortgage financial institution loans throughout Europe, stated advertising and marketing director Antoine Le Nel. In some international locations akin to Ireland, AI assistants are already being examined that utterly digitize the mortgage utility course of. However, the market launch in Ireland has been delayed and can now solely start in 2026. So far, Revolut has solely supplied dwelling loans in Lithuania, the place laws make refinancing significantly low-cost.

Revolut has had a banking license for the EU for years, issued by the Lithuanian central financial institution. The digital financial institution is supervised by the Central Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank (ECB). It was solely within the dwelling market of Great Britain {that a} banking license did not work out for a very long time. Revolut’s utility was caught for nearly 4 years. It was solely this summer season that the supervisory authority issued a – to this point nonetheless restricted – license. According to media reviews, the supervisory authority hesitated for therefore lengthy as a result of it was involved that the financial institution’s threat controls wouldn’t be capable to maintain tempo with the fast worldwide development of the enterprise. Revolut now has a “license in mobilization” and is at present solely allowed to just accept deposits of a restricted quantity.

Barclays CEO CS Venkatakrishnan just lately stated at a monetary convention that Revolut had really benefited from not having a full banking license. This meant that the financial institution needed to fulfill fewer supervisory obligations. But Revolut and different neobanks have angrily rejected this. They must meet the very same requirements as others.

Nik Storonsky is described within the firm as a troublesome, demanding boss. The financial institution founder, who nonetheless seems youthful with a half-length blonde coiffure, is an absolute workaholic himself. The father of 4 as soon as stated that 99.5 p.c of his life consists of labor. He virtually by no means takes trip. His hobbies embody kite browsing.

According to media estimates, he owns round a fifth of Revolut shares. At a valuation of $75 billion, that is an extremely giant fortune. The Revolut founder was nicely on his method to changing into one in every of Britain’s ten richest males. However, as just lately turned recognized, he has moved his residence to the United Arab Emirates, a tax haven. The London monetary regulator was not comfortable once they came upon about this from the newspaper.