Revolut has applied for a banking license in Switzerland

The fintech company Revolut has applied for a banking license in Switzerland. The application is currently under review by the local Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), according to Bloomberg, citing a company statement.

The license will allow Revolut to offer its customers deposit protection in accordance with Swiss standards, local IBANs (bank account numbers used to facilitate money transfers), payroll accounts, and payment processing services for merchants. “We need to have a presence here,” commented Revolut Chief Commercial Officer David Tirado on the application. “We have many affluent Swiss customers whom we want to serve.”

Overall, the British fintech company plans to invest 150 million Swiss francs ($183 million) in the Swiss market over the next five years, according to Bloomberg.

Revolut believes that the Swiss license will strengthen the fintech company's position in one of the world's financial hubs at a time when the company is beginning to expand into private banking services.

Bloomberg reported back in October 2025 that Revolut was seeking a banking license in Switzerland. The company currently operates in the country under a Lithuanian license, offering local customers cards, accounts, money transfers, and trading services. The application in Switzerland reflects the fintech company’s efforts to expand its services worldwide. For example, Revolut received authorization to begin banking operations in Mexico about a year ago; in March—three years after submitting its application in 2021—it was granted a full license by the United Kingdom; in July, by Australia; in August— France, and in September, Revolut announced conditional approval from the U.S. regulator to operate as a national bank.

Amid a major expansion of its banking operations in September, the fintech company faced a user data breach. The Financial Times discovered that for several months, hackers posing as employees of Italy’s Ministry of the Interior had hacked into the government’s email system and communicated with Revolut representatives. They managed to obtain data on approximately 700 of the fintech company’s customers—mostly people with large cryptocurrency holdings.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor