Revolut reaches 100,000 users in Romania, secures licenses to operate in Singapore & Japan

Revolut reached its stated goal at the launch of the service in Romania this year and reached to 100,000 Romanian users. The Romanians using Revolut reached to a total transaction volume of over 400M EUR in November. Romania is now the 4th fastest growing market for Revolut, after the United Kingdom, France and Poland.

Revolut becomes the everyday current account for an increasing number of Romanians, who are ditching their traditional banks and switch to Revolut due to the simplicity and enhanced security of the product, as well as features such as in-app budgeting controls, free instant transfers and savings Vaults.

With a total transaction volume exceeding 400 million Euros, Romanians are primarily using Revolut for card payments, online and offline, as well as money transfers. The top merchants where Romanian users pay with their Revolut card are Carrefour, Auchan, McDonalds, Ali Express, Inmedio, Uber, and Taxify.

Romanians are also using Vaults, Revolut’s savings feature that rounds up their spare change, to save money for their holidays, important life events or investments in cryptocurrencies or real estate. They have opened more than 21,000 Vaults to date and saved over 4.5 million in RON alone, using a combination of spare change and recurring payments. Romania also ranks #3 in terms of Premium & Metal adoption, after UK and France.

 We set up local operations in May with an ambitious goal: to reach 100,000 users before the end of the year. Reaching this important milestone early is just a confirmation that we lived up to our promise to put Romanians back in control of their money by offering them a radically better alternative to their banks. However, we have barely scratched the surface: this is just the tip of the iceberg and we will not settle until Revolut becomes the everyday financial partner for most Romanians

Irina Scarlat,

Country Manager Revolut in Romania

In celebration of this achievement, Revolut runs a limited-time promotion offering all new and existing users the possibility to order their first physical card for free, straight from the app. Only customers that have not ordered a physical card before are eligible for the offer that is valid until Sunday, December 2nd or until the stock lasts.

Besides the aggressive growth targets, Revolut has ambitious plans for the upcoming year, aiming to bring more product features to its Romanian clients. Among these there are the possibility to pay with their phone, Romanian IBANs, commission-free stock trading, perks, or preferential access to airport lounges, to name just a few.

Revolut’s global expansion plans were handed a boost today as they were granted a Remittance License by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as well as Stored Value Facility approval, which will allow them to operate in Singapore. The London-based fintech is also proactively working with the Singapore regulator to shape the upcoming Payment Service Bill given its extensive knowledge and experience from Europe. In Japan, Revolut has been fully authorised by the JFSA under the Fund Transfer License and is licensed to operate throughout the country. It is one of only a handful of international companies that have succeeded in obtaining this licence in Japan.

Revolut has confirmed that it is in the final stages of testing and will be launching in APAC in Q1 2019, with further news on their US and Canada launches expected in the coming weeks. Anticipation for Revolut’s launch in Asia Pacific has been growing, with over 50,000 customers already on the waiting list.

Revolut’s APAC HQ will most likely be based in Singapore, with a number of key personnel responsible for business development, public relations and compliance already hired in the region. Revolut has plans to hire an operations manager for further Singapore expansion in the coming months. Meanwhile, in Japan, Revolut has already secured partnerships with Rakuten, Sompo Japan Insurance (SJNK), and Toppan, with a local team recently established to strengthen its compliance and operational capabilities.

We’ve been working closely with the Singapore regulator to shape the future regulatory environment of the country. They believe and trust in our business model and vision, and would like to see our European success replicated in Singapore and across Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, our partnerships with Rakuten, SJNK and Toppan underline our strong support in Japan and we’re confident that we’ll disrupt the way banks traditionally function across APAC through our use of technology and innovation. We have confidence that Revolut will continue to be a driving force as we expand globally, developing a range of exciting new services for increasingly connected consumers in APAC. It’s a huge market and we’re already seeing an incredible amount of people demanding our product.

Nik Storonsky,

CEO and Founder  Revolut

Revolut launched in July 2015 with a punchy mission: to turn the financial banking sector on its head. Revolut users can open an app-based current account in minutes, right from the app, spend, receive & send money anywhere in the world at the interbank exchange rate, get instant exposure to cryptocurrencies, as well as enjoy an unprecedented level of security, online & offline, due to the cutting-edge technology.

Since July 2015, London-based Revolut has signed up over 3.2 million customers across Europe, processed more than 245 million transactions and has a total transaction volume of over $32 billion to date. Revolut has raised a total of $336m from some of the most notable investors including DST Global, Index Ventures, Balderton Capital and Ribbit Capital.