Revolut Targets a 2027 US Bank Launch After Its First Bid Collapsed

Revolut will open its first US bank in 2027, its American chief executive says, bundling FDIC-insured deposits, credit cards and crypto trading into one chartered app. Cetin Duransoy disclosed the timeline in a Reuters interview, with Revolut still waiting on the OCC and FDIC to rule on the charter it filed in March.

It is Revolut’s second run at an American charter. The first one, filed in 2021, collapsed by 2023. Monzo pulled out of the US this year and Germany’s N26 left earlier, so Revolut, now valued at $75 billion, is staking $500 million on succeeding where its own first attempt, and two European peers, did not.

Revolut Bank US, N.A. Takes Shape

The proposed bank would operate as Revolut Bank US, N.A., headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with a second office in New York, Duransoy said. It would be chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC, the federal agency that charters national banks) and insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, which insures US bank deposits up to $250,000).

Duransoy became Revolut’s US chief executive in March, succeeding Sid Jajodia, who moved into a newly created role as global chief banking officer. He spent more than two decades in payments before Revolut, including time at Visa and as US chief executive of Raisin, a savings marketplace that connects depositors with partner banks.

Revolut already serves more than 75 million retail customers worldwide, up from the 70 million it reported when it filed in March, making it Europe’s largest digital bank by customer count. It counts more than 1 million retail customers and tens of thousands of business customers in the US today, most of whom first tried the app while traveling, working or living abroad.

Duransoy said the charter would let Revolut offer:

• FDIC-insured deposits, including checking and high-yield investment accounts
• Credit cards and personal loans, drawing on interchange fees Revolut cannot collect today
• Multi-currency accounts spanning more than 30 currencies, from dollars to Latin American currencies
• Stock and cryptocurrency trading, including access to stablecoins, inside the same app as everyday banking

Revolut already runs crypto trading for customers outside the US, and recently opened that trading access to AI agents built on Claude, Gemini and Cursor. Duransoy said going it alone, instead of through partner banks, means Revolut “will also be able to go to market faster, providing customers with the most up-to-date products and technology.”

Revolut launched in the US in 2020 and has relied on partner banks ever since for cards, transfers and multi-currency accounts. A charter would end that arrangement entirely.

A Charter That Already Failed Once

Revolut’s American ambitions are older than this filing suggests. The company first pursued a US banking licence in 2021, seeking a state-level charter through California regulators. That bid ran into regulatory friction and scrutiny of Revolut’s internal financial controls, and the company withdrew it by 2023.

Revolut spent the years after weighing a shortcut: buying an existing US lender instead of building one from the ground up. It dropped that plan in January, choosing instead to build a new bank from scratch under what regulators call a de novo charter.

1. 2020: Revolut launches in the US, working through partner banks for cards, transfers and multi-currency accounts.
2. 2021: Revolut pursues a state-level banking licence through California regulators, its first formal push into US banking.
3. 2023: The California bid collapses amid regulatory friction and scrutiny of Revolut’s internal financial controls.
4. January 2026: Revolut drops plans to acquire an existing US bank in favor of building a new one.
5. March 5, 2026: Revolut files with the OCC and FDIC to create Revolut Bank US, N.A.
6. March 11, 2026: UK regulators grant Revolut a full banking licence, ending a five year wait.
7. 2027: Revolut’s targeted launch date for its US bank.

The approval landed six days after the US filing and let roughly 13 million UK customers move onto Revolut’s newly won UK banking licence instead of a patchwork of partner arrangements, the same shift Revolut is now attempting in America.

Why Do Regulators Look Friendlier This Time?

Because the OCC has approved new bank charters at a pace unseen in years. Under the current administration, the agency fielded 14 de novo charter applications in 2025, almost matching the combined total of the previous four years, and has since cleared crypto-native firms and fintechs that a prior administration resisted.

OCC comptroller Jonathan Gould handed tech investor Palmer Luckey a novelty-sized charter for his new bank this year and called it “an exciting day for the banking system,” a marked shift in tone from the agency’s posture under President Biden, when officials took a harder line on licensing foreign-owned banks.

The pace kept building through the winter. In December, the OCC conditionally approved charters for crypto firms Circle, Ripple, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos.

Brazilian fintech Nubank’s US arm won a conditional nod in January. Erebor became the first entirely new national bank chartered under the current administration in February. Revolut’s filing landed weeks later, in early March.

OCC reviews typically run 12 to 18 months from filing to decision. That means Revolut likely will not know the outcome until sometime in 2027 itself, around when it hopes to be open for business.

People close to Revolut say they expect a yes. They cite close coordination with both regulators through the review, and a political climate eager to hand out new bank charters.

Stablecoins Arrive Before the Doors Open

SoFi Technologies is the only nationally chartered US bank offering its own stablecoin today. It won its charter in January 2022 and still did not launch SoFiUSD inside its retail app until May 27 this year, a gap of more than four years between approval and product. Revolut wants to skip that gap, launching stablecoin access as a day-one feature instead of a later add-on.

The company already runs zero-fee USDC and USDT swaps for customers outside the US and pushed more than $1.2 billion in onchain stablecoin volume through the Polygon network last year. Folding that activity into an FDIC-insured US account is the structural bet behind the whole filing.

The legal ground shifted underneath this idea in July 2025, when the GENIUS Act gave stablecoin issuers and the banks that distribute them a federal framework for the first time. A broader crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, is still fighting for votes in the Senate, leaving parts of the picture unsettled even as Revolut builds toward 2027.

The Field Revolut Has to Beat in America

Revolut is not the only outsider chasing a US charter, and it is far from the biggest fintech already inside the tent. Chime alone operates without holding a bank charter of its own, yet claims one of the largest user bases among US neobanks. SoFi already has both a charter and a stablecoin live in its app. Cash App has embedded itself into the financial lives of younger and lower-income Americans without needing a charter at all.

Layered above that list sit JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, four incumbents that have spent a decade building sleek digital banking apps of their own. Wise has applied for a non-deposit-taking bank charter of its own, and Dutch challenger Bunq is pushing into the country too. Nubank’s timing is the closest echo of Revolut’s own bet: both are foreign challengers aiming to open doors in 2027, and both are betting a charter beats another partner-bank deal.

Free Subway Rides and a Titanium F1 Card

Two years ago, Revolut co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky was asked on Harry Stebbings’ 20VC podcast whether the Revolut brand was strong in America. “Not yet,” he said, adding that the company would close the gap “as soon as we get a banking licence in the US.”

Revolut has leaned harder into US visibility since. It offered free subway rides to new customers in New York and signed a Formula One sponsorship deal with Audi for the 2026 season, putting the Revolut name in front of a global racing audience.

Underneath the sponsorships sits a harder problem. Revolut is caught between two identities: the scrappy startup that built its following on fee-free foreign exchange, and the sort of dependable institution Americans trust with a paycheck. Shedding too much of the startup edge risks making Revolut just another banking app in a country that already has plenty of those.

What Could Still Break Revolut’s Plan?

Analysts point to a crowded market where Chime and SoFi already have millions of loyal users, a historically slow and unforgiving OCC review process, a customer service reputation that has drawn complaints in Europe, and American consumers with far more banking options and far less patience for switching than Revolut found overseas.

Banking analyst Ron Shevlin laid out the case in a Forbes column in March. Revolut, he wrote, is entering a market where Chime already counts 22 million customers and SoFi has both a charter and a membership model with real traction. The OCC process, he added, is historically slow and unforgiving on compliance, the same process that sank Revolut’s California bid the first time around.

Revolut’s reputation for not-so-great customer service is no secret. Europeans tolerated it because the product benefits were significant enough. Americans won’t be as forgiving.

Shevlin wrote that in Forbes, arguing that Revolut’s signature mix of cross-border payments, crypto trading and a premium metal card has already been copied by Wise, Coinbase, Robinhood and nearly every other fintech chasing the same customer.

Traditional banks have pushed back on the broader wave of new charters too, telling regulators that handing licences to crypto-friendly fintechs amounts to regulatory arbitrage, not genuine competition. Revolut’s own annual report states the ambition plainly: the company wants 100 million customers worldwide by mid-2027, the same year it hopes to be cashing US paychecks.

Neither the OCC nor the FDIC has ruled on the application yet. Revolut’s own clock, and its second shot at America, runs out in 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Revolut FDIC insured for US customers right now?

Not yet under its own charter. Revolut’s US accounts currently run through Lead Bank, a Kansas City-based partner, and would only carry direct FDIC insurance once regulators approve Revolut Bank US, N.A.

Does an OCC charter automatically come with FDIC insurance?

No. A national bank charter from the OCC and deposit insurance from the FDIC are separate approvals. Revolut needs both agencies to sign off before it can legally hold insured US deposits, and a charter alone is not enough on its own.

Will Revolut issue its own dollar stablecoin?

Not necessarily. Revolut’s public plans describe giving US customers access to stablecoins alongside FDIC-insured accounts, not a Revolut-branded token on day one. Distributing existing stablecoins is the more likely starting point, with a proprietary coin, the model SoFi already uses, left as a later option.

Is Revolut planning to go public alongside its US bank launch?

No. Multiple reports and comments from CEO Nik Storonsky indicate Revolut does not intend to list its shares before 2028, keeping the company private through its US charter decision and initial bank rollout.

Which other countries has Revolut recently entered as a licensed bank?

Revolut picked up a Mexican banking licence in January 2026 and holds licences in India and the UAE, part of a push to operate as a bank in 30 new markets by 2030.