From start-up to unicorn – the rise of Revolut
With the vision of making managing your money simpler, faster and more transparent, Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko created Revolut in 2015.
Vytautas Danta, CCO and deputy CEO of Revolut’s European entity, Revolut Bank
In just nine short years, the company has amassed over 40 million customers globally (28 million in Europe) and operates in over 35 countries.
In Lithuania, Revolut has half a million customers, which doesn’t sound a lot, until you discover that the country has a population of less than 3 million people.
Although the company only has a banking licence for Europe, it has payments licences in the UK, USA, Australia and Singapore, and is in the process of gaining a full banking licence in the UK.
Starting with a prepaid debit card and app, it has since grown into a global financial services super-app. It has over 10 revenue streams and continues to look for more. With a Revolut card, users can action money transfers in over 36 currencies while being able to spend fee-free in over 140 currencies.
What is equally amazing is that there is only one app that services every customer. The app recognises which country the customer resides in and personalises the experience for you.
Behind the scenes, there is even more “magic” at work. The company has developed its own core banking platform which services all jurisdictions and products, a feat that has previously eluded banks and incumbent core banking software providers. Even many of the modern/new core banking vendors have not yet achieved this.
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Vytautas Danta, deputy CEO and management board member at Revolut Bank (the company’s European entity). Vytautas is also the chief compliance officer (CCO) at Revolut Bank. He explains his role is crucial for global expansion because “financial services are a regulated business, so you need to align with each jurisdiction’s regulation”.
During our conversation, I wanted to understand what makes Revolut different and how it’s been able to grow so quickly – not only from a product perspective, but also from a geographical perspective.
Vytautas pointed out that although the company has business entities in each country it operates in, the development of the app and the core banking platform is done by a central group.
I probed him further, because with so many countries, surely there will be resource constraints. Vytautas explained that everything is “customer-driven and prioritised accordingly”. This means that every request has to make clear the impact to the customer, and prioritisation is given to things that have the biggest impact.
On core banking, Vytautas, who has previously worked for a number of incumbent banks in Europe, explains: “Banks can’t scale quickly because their core banking platforms tend to be different in each country, and they often even outsource or acquire their core. Revolut has developed one core platform for all its countries and for all its products.” This hugely reduces the complexity for the company while accelerating its ability to launch new products or get started in new countries.
When it comes to competitors, Vytautas says: “There is no like-for-like competitor, but there are many players that provide one or two of our capabilities, like payments.”
When we discussed what it’s like to work at Revolut, I also asked what excited Vytautas most. “Customer growth,” he says. “We are onboarding more customers in a month than some banks have in total!” He adds that he is also proud that by being digital first, the company can have a much greater positive impact on sustainability.
Later on in our conversation, I highlighted that most of Revolut’s revenue streams are marginal income and asked whether the company plans to get into more profitable products like mortgages. Vytautas says that this is definitely on the roadmap, adding that the company’s lower cost base and greater efficiency will allow it to offer loans at a better rate than traditional banks.
The company seems to have an unquenchable thirst to grow into more countries and acquire more customers. Vytautas says that traditional banks focus on profit only, whereas Revolut’s focus is on growth, and it’s resulting in double-digit growth annually.
This week, I’m just saying that many players have tried to disrupt banking, and while some are succeeding in domestic geographies, none have done this as expansively on a worldwide basis as Revolut. While Revolut is not a bank in all jurisdictions, it is certainly competing with banks when it comes to solving customer needs while operating a global digital footprint. What Revolut has achieved so far and its line of direction for the future is nothing short of remarkable.
My sincere thanks to Vytautas Danta for giving me a personal insight to one of the largest and fastest growing fintech unicorns.
About the author
Dharmesh Mistry has been in banking for more than 30 years both in senior positions at Tier 1 banks and as a serial entrepreneur. He has been at the forefront of banking technology and innovation, from the very first internet and mobile banking apps to artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR).
He has been on both sides of the fence and he’s not afraid to share his opinions.
He founded proptech start-up AskHomey (sold to a private investor in spring 2023) and is an investor and mentor in proptech and fintech. He also co-hosts the Demystify Podcast.
Follow Dharmesh on X @dharmeshmistry and LinkedIn.
Read all his “I’m just saying” musings here.
