Revolut abandons US merger plans to pursue own de novo banking licence: FT

London-based fintech Revolut is preparing to apply for a de novo national banking charter in the United States, abandoning its previous strategy of acquiring an existing lender, according to a Financial Times report on Friday.

This marks a pivot from the strategy the company was pursuing as recently as August last year, when it sought to purchase a nationally chartered U.S. bank to gain an immediate lending footprint across all 50 states. The firm initially viewed an acquisition as the fastest path to expansion.

According to the FT report, Revolut reversed course after concluding that a takeover posed significant hurdles, including potential obligations to maintain physical branches of a community bank and a separate regulatory approval process for the change in ownership.

The company is now relying on an accelerated approval pathway from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, following an overhaul of the agency over the past year, people familiar with the matter told FT. The OCC has already granted several conditional banking licenses to crypto-native firms, including BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos, and Ripple.

"The U.S. market is critical for Revolut’s global growth strategy, and our long-term plan is to establish a bank in the U.S.," Revolut said in the report. "That said, we continue to actively explore all options, including a de novo bank license application."

In November, Revolut closed a share sale led by investors including Coatue, Greenoaks, Dragoneer, and Fidelity Management & Research Company, at a $75 billion valuation. That marked a 66% increase from its $45 billion valuation in 2024.

Revolut has also expanded its crypto operations and regulatory footprint in Europe. The company secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets license, permitting Revolut to offer its full suite of crypto services across the 30 markets of the European Economic Area.

The company also launched a mobile app for its Revolut X crypto exchange in March 2025 for users in the UK and EEA, following a desktop version launched in November 2024.