Revolut’s £1.6bn sales bonanza – but the fintech star remains stuck in banking licence limbo

Revolut will report its impressive financial results today as it continues its fight to obtain a banking license.

The fintech firm expects revenue for the past year to exceed £1.6 billion and profits to exceed £276 million.

In a boost to its bid to win support from UK regulators, it is the first time in three years that Revolut has published its accounts on time.

But this comes 490 days after Revolut bosses said the company would obtain a banking licence “imminently”.

On March 1 last year, they said the company would get the green light “at any time.”

But regulators have yet to give the green light three years after Revolut applied for it, a source of embarrassment for founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky.

A banking license would allow the app to expand its services in Britain, including accepting deposits, granting loans and offering credit cards and mortgages.

In 2021, Revolut was valued at £26 billion and was hailed as the UK’s most valuable fintech.

It is now seeking a valuation of around £32bn in a share sale to employees, a 20 per cent raise that would make Revolut bigger than NatWest.

The regulatory delay prompted an outburst from Storonsky last year, when he called Britain an undesirable place to do business.

He said it had been a “long and tiring process” and that Revolut would not choose London for a future public listing.

Analysts at the time dismissed his comments as “tantrum” and “sour grapes.”

Getting your accounts in order has been considered a crucial step on the road to obtaining a license.

But Revolut has failed to publish its financials on time for two years running.

When the 2021 accounts were finally published in March last year, auditor BDO said it could not independently verify three-quarters of its £636m revenue.

The accounting firm warned that some information could be “materially misleading.”

In December last year, Revolut published its 2022 results three months late.

Today’s accounts are the first to be published following the appointment of Francesca Carlesi, Revolut’s UK chief executive, in November. Earlier this year, she said the firm was “determined” to obtain a banking licence.

“We are determined to work hard to achieve this,” he said.