Revolut has applied for a Swiss banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as part of its plans to expand its offering for Swiss customers.
If approved, the license would enable the company to offer a new level of product localisation to its more than 1.3 million customers in Switzerland.
Currently, Revolut serves its Swiss customer base through Revolut Bank UAB, which is licensed in Lithuania and maintains a representative office in Switzerland but does not hold a Swiss banking license.
If approved, the Swiss banking license would lay the foundation for a full banking product tailored to the Swiss market, including Swiss IBANs, salary accounts, eBill, merchant acquiring and access to the Swiss deposit guarantee scheme.
Revolut is also considering further local products, including Pillar 3a and TWINT.
“By applying for a Swiss banking license, we are taking an important step towards becoming a more deeply rooted part of one of the world’s most important and advanced financial markets,”
said David Tirado, Chief Commercial Officer at Revolut.
To support this expansion, Revolut plans to invest more than CHF 150 million in Switzerland over the next five years.
The investment will notably support the development of new products and the creation of local jobs, while planned appointments at executive board and senior leadership level will support the build-out of an independent, locally anchored banking structure.
“Revolut is already Switzerland’s leading fintech. With our own banking license, we would become a true Swiss bank, able to offer our more than 1.3 million customers our leading Revolut banking product with a Swiss finish,”
said Julian Biegmann, General Manager for Switzerland.
If FINMA grants the license, existing customers would move to the Swiss banking entity through a process designed to make the transition seamless while meeting Swiss regulatory requirements.
Revolut said the customer experience would remain unchanged, with Swiss IBANs available from the outset and further local products and services to follow.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by topntp26 via Magnific
