Digital direct bank Revolut plans to double the number of its customers in Germany, about 500,000 so far, in the next 12 months. To this end, the central banking app for customers is to become a “financial super app.” So far, the app has been used to manage physical and digital credit cards and payments, as well as current accounts on a credit basis. Accounts can be held in 120 currencies and cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold. In addition, there will be opportunities for stock trading and loans, explicitly mentioned the real estate loan. Up to now, German customers have received IBAN numbers with Lithuanian identifiers for their current accounts, but German IBAN numbers are to be used as early as 2022.
App Bank was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko (pictured left and right) in London. Nikolay Storonsky was previously a trader at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers, Vlad Yatsenko was previously a software developer at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. The startup received $3.5 million in funding and promised fair and transparent fees and interbank exchange rates. As of 2017, UK customers could open accounts, and eight million customers could be accounted for in 2019. In addition to many European countries, customers in the USA have also been able to use the services since 2020. At the end of 2020, it reported 13 million customers, making it the leading digital bank in Europe.
In total, Revolut has raised $580 million in funding to date. The company was valued at $5.5 billion in 2020.
In addition to retail banking in 120 currencies, digital and physical debit cards (Visa/Mastercard), (crypto) currency exchange, money transfers and peer-to-peer payments, Revolut also offers banking for business customers. “Revolut for Business” is aimed at small businesses and the self-employed and, in addition to the app, can also be operated via a web interface and APIs. Revolut integrates with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Storonsky and Yatsenko continue as CEOs of the company. The latest published financials show 2020 revenue of £222 million and a loss of £168 million. For 2021, customer figures of 15 million residential and 500 thousand business customers and activity in 35 countries have been published so far.
