- Revolut explores acquiring a U.S. bank for faster market entry.
- Aims for a national banking license in the U.S.
- Potential impacts on crypto frameworks and user banking experience.
Revolut is negotiating the acquisition of a U.S. bank to procure a national banking license, enhancing integration within the American financial sector.
Such a move may dramatically impact Revolut’s operations, offering expanded financial services and potentially increasing cryptocurrency adoption among American institutional clients.
Revolut’s Strategy in the U.S.
Revolut is actively considering acquiring a U.S. bank to accelerate its process of obtaining a national license and better integrate with the U.S. financial system. This move would reduce dependence on third-party partners. Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut’s CEO, leads this strategic initiative. While no specific acquisition target is confirmed, internal sources indicate a desire to pivot U.S. banking relationships.
Enhancing Customer Services
The acquisition aims to broaden Revolut’s U.S. customer base by offering FDIC-insured deposits. Market reactions include the shift of customer deposits from Metropolitan Commercial Bank to Lead Bank. As Storonsky stated, “Revolut US is changing our card issuer and bank partner from Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB) to Lead Bank…” This strategic change could improve Revolut’s ability to offer crypto trading services, impacting fiat-to-crypto transaction flows and potentially affecting on-chain liquidity for supported cryptocurrencies.
Operational and Market Implications
Acquiring a bank would position Revolut to directly handle customer funds, improving operational efficiency and enhancing its U.S. market offering. Such an acquisition, akin to those by SoFi and LendingClub, could lead to increased DeFi adoption, with potential regulatory and compliance challenges, but also enhanced institutional credibility.
