Revolut secures a full banking licence in Australia

Revolut has secured a full banking licence in Australia, taking on a long-established market controlled by four major banks. The fintech giant is rolling out its strategy to become the first global bank.

This is a major turning point for Revolut. The British neobank has reached a crucial milestone by obtaining a full banking licence in Australia, granted by the local regulator, APRA. And it changes everything.

Revolut obtains a full banking licence in Australia

Until now, the fintech had operated in the country as an interactive payments and travel card service. This authorised deposit-taking institution licence now allows it to offer genuine traditional banking products, starting with interest-paying savings accounts and credit cards. More importantly, the licence provides a powerful reassurance for users: local deposits are protected by the Australian Government up to A$250,000 per customer. That is equivalent to €150,000.

Buoyed by this new legitimacy, the giant is making no secret of its ambitions and plans to invest almost A$400 million over 5 years to challenge the “Big Four”, the four established banks that overwhelmingly dominate the national market. Revolut already claims 1.2 million users in Australia.

A global expansion strategy gathering pace

This development forms part of a particularly methodical international rollout plan. This approval is the group’s very first banking licence in the Asia-Pacific region. Globally, it is only its second banking authorisation granted outside Europe, following Mexico.

Every new licence is an essential building block in delivering the fintech’s ultimate ambition: becoming the first true global bank. Having secured its full banking licence in the United Kingdom after several years of waiting, Revolut has already applied for a banking charter in the United States and is now targeting New Zealand, a neighbouring market dominated by the same established players.

This momentum supports an extraordinary financial trajectory. Already valued at $75 billion, the neobank is targeting a valuation of between $150 billion and $200 billion ahead of a future stock market listing, which is not expected before 2028.

Revolut’s rapid growth in France

In France, the company has just passed the symbolic milestone of 8 million customers. Interest is so strong that the Revolut app records more downloads in France than social media giants such as TikTok and Instagram.

The Revolut hurricane

This remarkable success is built on a straightforward formula: a remarkably seamless app, fee-free payments abroad and a complete financial ecosystem bringing together a current account, savings, currency exchange and investing. The competition had better watch out.