Revolut: From Multi Currency Card to $45 Billion Neobank — A Full Financing Journey

1. Founding & Early Years (2015 2017) Background: Revolut was founded on 1st July 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky (CEO) and Vlad Yatsenko (CTO) in London. Storonsky had experience in trading derivatives and Yatsenko in software engineering. Their initial idea was to address the frustration of high Foreign Exchange fees and poor travel card services by launching a mobile first prepaid card that allowed users to hold and exchange multiple currencies with minimal fees. Initial product & traction: In its first years, Revolut focused on the UK and European markets, gaining early traction through referrals and by offering cheaper Foreign Exchange solutions. Early funding supported the product build and user acquisition. For example, the company raised seed / Series A funding in 2016. Key milestone – Series B (2017): In 2017, Revolut raised approximately US$66 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital and Balderton Capital. This funding enabled further European expansion and product enhancement (including launching app features, customer acquisition scaling). 2. Growth Phase (2018 2020) Unicorn status & major funding: On 26 April 2018, Revolut raised US$250 million in a Series C at a valuation of around US$1.7 billion, officially becoming a unicorn. Regulatory licensing step: In December 2018, Revolut obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Bank of Lithuania, which allowed it to issue electronic money, accept deposits, and provide payment services across the European Union. This step positioned Revolut as one of the first UK fintechs to operate with a formal EU banking license, enabling it to expand into EU markets legally and offer regulated financial services. Global expansion & product diversification: Between 2018 and 2020, Revolut launched services in key international markets, including the United States in 2018 and Japan in 2019, marking its first major forays outside Europe. During this period, the company significantly expanded its product portfolio: • Currency exchange and prepaid cards remained core offerings for retail users. • Stock trading was introduced in 2019, allowing users to buy and sell shares commission-free. • Cryptocurrency trading was launched in 2018, enabling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets. • Premium subscription plans (Revolut Premium and Metal) offered higher transaction limits, travel insurance, and exclusive features. • Business accounts were rolled out in multiple countries to target SMEs and freelancers, adding a new revenue stream. This phase established Revolut as a multi-product financial super-app, attracting users seeking a broader suite of financial services beyond traditional banking. Series D funding (2020): In 2020, Revolut raised around US$500 580 million in a Series D round, which tripled its valuation to around £4.2 billion (~US$5 6 billion) making it the UK’s most valuable fintech at that point. Profitability milestone: In November 2020, Revolut announced that it had achieved its first full-year profitability, reporting a pre-tax profit of approximately £2.5 million for the year. This marked a key milestone, demonstrating that the company’s rapid user growth, diversified revenue streams (cards, FX, and subscriptions), and cost management strategies could generate sustainable earnings, rather than relying solely on venture capital funding. Turning profitable also increased investor confidence and positioned Revolut for larger funding rounds and long-term expansion. 3. Scaling & Profitability Phase (2021 2024) Series E & $33 billion valuation (2021): In July 2021, Revolut raised US$800 million in a Series E round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global, valuing the company at US$33 billion. Business model evolution: By this stage, Revolut was generating revenue from multiple sources: subscription plans (premium users), wealth & trading services, foreign exchange and card payments, interest income from deposits, business banking services. User base and balance growth: By December 2024, Revolut reported approximately 52.5 million registered users globally. The company also held customer deposit balances of around $38 billion, reflecting both rapid user growth and increasing engagement with its financial products. These metrics demonstrated that Revolut had evolved from a niche Foreign Exchange startup into a fully scaled neobank, capable of handling high transaction volumes and a diversified set of financial services across multiple markets. 2024 Financials: According to the 2024 Annual Report, revenues reached around £3.1 billion (≈US$4 billion) and profit before tax around US$1.4 billion. Bank licences in the UK (2024): In July 2024, Revolut was granted a restricted UK banking licence by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). This licence allowed the company to accept customer deposits, provide personal and business loans, and offer other regulated banking services, marking a major strategic shift from a fintech payment provider to a regulated neobank. The move also enabled Revolut to expand its product offerings in the UK, enhance revenue diversification, and strengthen customer trust under the supervision of UK banking regulators. 4. Strategic Financial Decisions & Levers 1. Aggressive funding for growth, then monetization: Revolut consistently raised large funding rounds to scale user acquisition and geographic expansion before sharply ramping monetisation and profitability. 2. Product diversification: By expanding beyond FX and cards into wealth, crypto, subscriptions and business banking, Revolut increased customer lifetime value (LTV) and spread risk across revenue streams. 3. Licensing/regulation as strategic enabler: Securing deposit taking licences (Lithuania, later UK) allowed Revolut to shift from being purely a payments/FX player to a bank like financial institution — enabling more profitable products (loans, deposits) and reducing reliance on interchange/FX margins. 4. Macro tailwinds – higher interest rates: As global interest rates rose, fintechs like Revolut benefited from higher interest spreads on deposits and assets. This helped profitability. 5. Valuation and secondary liquidity management: Revolut’s large valuations (US$33 billion in 2021; US$45 billion by 2024) reflect investor confidence; secondary share sales provided liquidity for employees and helped signal maturity ahead of potential IPO. 5. Outcome & Current Standing (End 2024 into 2025) By year end 2024, Revolut had achieved: • ~52.5 million users. • Revenue ~US$4 billion and profit before tax ~US$1.4 billion. • Valuation via secondary share sale at ~US$45 billion (August 2024). Despite this, the company remains privately held and faces key challenges: converting its broad user base into deep banking relationships globally, navigating regulatory complexity as a bank, maintaining unit economics as geographies scale, and managing competitive pressure from both incumbents and fintechs. 6. Key Takeaways for Founders & Investors • Scale, then monetise deeply: Revolut’s trajectory underscores that achieving large user scale is valuable but only when monetisation follows. • Diversify revenue early: Relying on a single revenue stream (FX/interchange) makes a business vulnerable to regulatory and margin pressure. • Use regulation as a strategic step, not just compliance: Getting a full banking license wasn’t just regulatory box ticking for Revolut—it unlocked new financial levers (loans, deposits) which are more profitable. • Valuation is a marker of possibility, not guarantee: Even at US$33 45 billion valuations, execution on profits, regulation and global scaling remain crucial. • Tailwinds matter: Fintechs can benefit from macro conditions (e.g., rising interest rates) but must guard for downturns and margin compression. • Emerging market founders can learn from this model: For markets like Bangladesh: build a strong core product, expand offerings, consider licensing/regulation early, and focus on unit economics before global growth. Conclusion Revolut’s journey from a travel card startup to a super app neobank exemplifies how financial architecture — from funding strategy to licensing decisions — defines success in fintech. This case study offers a blueprint to understand how scale, product diversification and strategic regulation combine to create value. The story is far from over — as Revolut moves into deeper banking services and global markets, the next chapters will test its ability to convert promise into long term banking profitability.