British fintech Revolut gets full banking licence

Group lodged application in 2021 but had to overcome accounting issues and reputational concerns Revolut can finally launch as a fully fledged UK bank after a five-year wait for regulatory approval. The fintech said it had received the all-clear from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for a full banking licence, allowing it to offer accounts for retail and business customers. It will start introducing current accounts to a small number of new customers within days, the group said. The move follows Revolut being granted a UK banking licence – with “restrictions” – in 2024, having first lodged its application in 2021. Revolut bosses were said to have grown frustrated with UK regulators, who had been slow to grant a full licence allowing it to hold customer deposits and branch out into more lucrative products such as loans and mortgages. The challenge was reportedly, in part, convincing regulators that Revolut had addressed a number of accounting issues and EU regulatory breaches, as well as reputational concerns, including an over-aggressive corporate culture. The delays led to tensions in the City with Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, who stepped in to bloc