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Ten years to the day
Leaving Moscow
Nick, Revolut's founder, had left Moscow for London, where he worked as a trader. He was frustrated by how complex, difficult, and expensive it was to move money, and by how unfair the system was to everyone in it. He named the company for the revolution he wanted in money, and nothing about it was meant to sit in the middle.
The daily routine
In his late twenties the routine never changed: a swim every morning, the first one into the office, the last one out, and the first one back the next day. It was non-stop, driven by a mission he had to finish in his lifetime.
Ten years on
Ten years on, he leads by mission and by taste, with strong opinions about how things should go. He still has 20 people reporting directly to him, works seven days a week, and takes two weeks off every number of weeks. The same drive shows in Revolut offices in the Middle East, Barcelona, and London, in how people talk and move, across what is now 15 or 20 countries.
Why did Revolut's license take so long?
Revolut first applied for a UK banking license in January 2021. New UK banks go through a staged process run by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, in which a firm is authorized with restrictions while it builds its systems and controls. Revolut's authorization came in July 2024, more than three years after it applied.
Why do fintechs want bank licenses?
Under UK rules, an e-money firm must keep customer money safeguarded in separate accounts and cannot lend it out. A full bank can lend out deposits to earn interest on them. Its depositors are also covered by the government's Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Why did London become a fintech hub?
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority launched the world's first regulatory sandbox in 2016, a program that lets startups test products under supervision. Regulators in many other countries later copied the model. That same year the Competition and Markets Authority ordered the nine largest UK banks to open customer data to authorized startups, with the rules taking effect in 2018.
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