Revolut has dropped plans to use the e-money license it secured from the Central Bank of Ireland last year in a move that is expected to lead to a small number of job losses locally. The company, which was awarded a full banking license by the European Central Bank (ECB) in December, said it intended to use that license to offer services – including personal loans – to Irish customers rather than the one approved by the Irish regulator. Several other fintechs have also expressed concern over the regulator’s approach, which sees it taking considerably longer than its European counterparts to approve licenses. Few have commented publicly, however, for fear of displeasing the Central Bank. Revolut jettisoned plans to set up a European wealth and trading hub in Dublin last year after securing authorization in Lithuania to provide investment services across the European Economic Area.
Revolut customers here are already regulated by the Bank of Lithuania following a move late in 2020 to shift regulation away from Britain due to Brexit. Revolut Bank is live in 28 markets in Europe, having been rolled out to 10 additional countries last month. Considering the withdrawal of Ulster Bank and KBC from the Irish market, Irish customers are in more need of alternative banking providers rather than an e-money account. The fintech’s banking licence allows it to provide bank accounts to Irish customers covered by the deposit guarantee of up to €100,000 per customer. Revolut, which has 1.7 million Irish customers, has opened a waiting list for those who wish to sign up for personal loans. Founded in July 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut is best known for consumer-oriented services. However, it has also been pushing deeper into business banking in recent years. The company was valued at $33 billion (€29 billion) after raising $800 million from backers last year.