British fintech Revolut launches business offering, chasing Australian banking licence

The British fintech giant is not slowing down despite the departure of global executives, and is chasing its Australian banking licence.

Revolut local boss Matt Baxby. Picture: Supplied

British fintech Revolut is taking on the likes of Airwallex and Wise as well as the big four banks, launching its business offering in Australia and pursuing a local banking licence, despite the recent departure of multiple of the company’s top-ranking global executives.

Revolut has grown from a small start-up to now one of Europe’s most valuable fintech companies, worth $US33bn ($50bn).

From this week, Australian Revolut business customers will have access to multi-currency accounts, virtual and physical debit cards, real-time spending reports and the ability to set up and manage multiple users, as the company moves towards becoming a fully-fledged bank.

The fintech has over 100,000 businesses using its platform in Europe, according to James Gibson, the executive in charge of Revolut Business.

“Australia will be our first market outside of Europe, the US and the UK for us, and I think it’s fair to say Australian SMEs have been largely under-served when it comes to FX and anything international,” Mr Gibson said in an interview. “What we hear a lot from them is that they really want a solution that allows them to do business overseas. And we have a lot of European customers who have Australian subsidiaries and vice versa, so we think we’re going to get quite a lot of traction with that.

“It’s going live this week and we’re very excited.”

Revolut business boss James Gibson. Picture: Supplied

Matt Baxby, the chief executive of Revolut’s Australia business, said the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and meant affordability and sustainability were now front of mind for Australian small businesses, meaning they’re now looking for alternative partners, particularly for services like foreign exchange.

“For small businesses, their time is money, and they need to be able to do things efficiently,” he said.

“What we hear from a lot of customers is that people often come to us for the rates initially, given they’re better than basically anything else on the market, so that’s a great hook with customers, but then they often end up staying because the amount of time it saves them, so they can then focus on what they want to do as a business. It sounds cliche, but it’s totally true.”

In Australia, Revolut Business will offer businesses up to $75,000 per month in foreign currency exchange, Mr Baxby said, with plans priced at $25 and $100 per month. The company will also be offering Australian businesses a three-month trial of either plan.

Revolut has been hit by multiple executive departures in recent weeks, losing both its UK banking chief executive and group chief financial officer this month. Mikko Salovaara, Revolut’s CFO, left the digital bank after two years, but the company has said his departure was unrelated to concerns flagged by auditor BDO related to Revolut’s financial accounts.

“Overall I can say we are pretty stable,” Mr Gibson said.

“Mikko resigned for personal reasons, and the business wishes him well.”

Revolut secured an Australian credit licence in 2022, and is chasing a banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority that would allow it to offer deposits alongside its other offerings in money management, stock trading and crypto.

Revolut is chasing a banking licence from APRA, which would allow it to offer deposits alongside its other offerings in money management, stock trading and crypto. Picture: Supplied

“There is some great stuff coming, all built around this idea of creating something where people can manage their entire financial lives in one place,” Mr Baxby said. “Some of the plans are advancing really quickly, including credit, and we’ve been in external testing on that. Consumer lending has probably been the poor cousin amogst the major banks, and we think there’s a real opportunity there. And another thing on the cards is a launch into New Zealand.

“A bank licence is still very much part of our plans. To be held to that regulatory standard would give our consumers confidence for the long haul, and would enable products that are in demand from our customers. We’re working our way through that, and it’s a key part of our plans overall.”