Revolut's Rise: How a Tech Startup Is Taking On Europe's Biggest Banks

A company called Revolut started just over ten years ago with a simple idea: help people exchange money between countries for cheaper fees. Since then, it has grown into Europe's most valuable tech startup, now worth $115 billion. That makes it worth more than famous old banks like Barclays in Britain and Societe Generale in France. Revolut's story is one of fast growth, big ambitions, and real challenges along the way.

Revolut's boss, Nik Storonsky, wants the company to become a truly global bank. In recent weeks, Revolut has announced new banking licenses in several countries, aiming to serve customers from Mexico to Australia. Some older banks, like HSBC, are actually pulling back from certain countries. Revolut is moving in the opposite direction, trying to reach more people around the world.

The company made a pretax profit of about $2.2 billion in 2025. That sounds like a lot, but it is still much smaller than Barclays, which made about $11.7 billion in profit. Still, Revolut is growing very quickly. The CEO of Portugal's biggest bank said 2025 would be the last year his 150-year-old bank earned more than Revolut.

Revolut has attracted 80 million customers around the world, which is nearly as many as JPMorgan, one of the biggest banks in America. In Ireland alone, eight out of every ten adults have a Revolut account. The app is easy to use, which has helped it grow so fast. However, the company still earns far less money per customer than traditional banks do.

One reason Revolut earns less per customer is that it does not lend much money. Traditional banks make a lot of money by giving out loans and charging interest. Revolut mostly earns money through fees, like subscriptions for its card services. Its loan-to-deposit ratio is just 6%, compared to 55% for HSBC and 86% for Societe Generale.

Another challenge is that too few Revolut customers use it as their main bank account. Company leaders admit this is a problem they need to fix. The number of people using Revolut as their primary bank grew 45% in one year, but the total number is still small. Investors are watching this closely, because it is a key sign of how much customers truly trust the app.

Revolut has also had some serious setbacks. It was fined in Lithuania for not doing enough to stop money laundering, which is when criminals try to hide illegally obtained money. In September, hackers tricked Revolut into handing over some customer data by pretending to be government investigators. The company said customer funds were safe, but the incident raised concerns.

Despite these problems, Revolut says it has strong protections for customers and takes fraud very seriously. Instead of relying on interest from loans, it earns money from many different products and services. This means its growth depends on building things customers want to use, not on rising interest rates. The company calls this a diversified business model.

Looking ahead, the United States is seen as Revolut's biggest opportunity — and its toughest test. Revolut currently has a provisional, or temporary, license to operate there. Competition from established American banks will be fierce. Whether Revolut can win over American customers the same way it has in Europe remains one of the biggest questions for the company's future.