Fintech Giant Revolut Unveils $13 Billion Bet To Become The First Truly Global Bank

Revolut Nikolay Storonsky takes part in an event to open Revolut’s new global headquarters in the Canary Wharf. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Revolut is making its biggest push yet on the world stage, pledging £10 billion ($13 billion) to fuel a rapid expansion that aims to reach 100 countries and grow its customer base to 100 million by the end of the decade.

Ambition has never been in short supply at Revolut. By the end of the decade, the fintech says it wants to be operating in 100 countries and serving 100 million customers. “We always wanted to be global from day one,” said Nik Storonsky, cofounder and CEO, at the company’s new headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf. “The vision is very simple: we want to be in 100 countries, and with 100 million” customers.

That vision has already taken Revolut further than most fintech firms. From its early days when work was primarily done at a Starbucks in Canary Wharf—before Storonsky and cofounder Vlad Yatsenko decamped to Level39, a co-working space for tech startups—the firm has grown into a financial giant. Today it serves more than 65 million customers in over 50 markets, and it now occupies four floors in the YY London tower.

The company’s growth trajectory is just as impressive as its new office. Revolut expects to generate more than £4 billion in revenue this year, having posted a pretax profit of $1.4 billion in 2024—its fourth consecutive year in the black.

Investors have taken notice: a secondary share sale now underway values the business at $75 billion, up from $45 billion just a year ago. The firm’s soaring valuation has turned both Storonsky and Yatsenko into billionaires.

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, attended the opening of the firm’s new headquarters on Tuesday and welcomed Revolut’s pledge to invest $4 billion in the U.K. and create 1,000 new jobs over the next five years. She noted that the move adds to a recent wave of investment from financial heavyweights including Blackstone, BlackRock, and PayPal, bringing the U.K.’s tally of fresh commitments to more than £110 billion.

Revolut’s ambitions extend well beyond Britain. By mid-2027 it aims to reach 100 million customers, and by 2030 it plans to add more than 30 new markets to its global operations. In Europe, it is launching branches in Portugal and Belgium and preparing to apply for a French banking license. In Asia, it is preparing to launch in India and is seeking further licenses in Australia and New Zealand. The company has already established a global tech hub in the Philippines.

The firm also has plans for Africa and the Middle East. Revolut will make its first push into Africa, beginning with South Africa. It will expand in the Middle East with the help of a newly granted in-principle payments license in the United Arab Emirates. Latin America is also in the firm’s sights: the company will open a bank in Mexico early next year before moving into Colombia and Argentina.

For Storonsky, all of this fits into a mission that has been consistent since those early days in Canary Wharf. “Our mission has always been to simplify money for our customers,” he said. “And our vision to become the world’s first truly global bank is the ultimate expression of that.”