The Revolut US banking license took a real step forward this week. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted the British neobank conditional approval for a national bank charter. That approval lets the firm form Revolut Bank US, a federally regulated entity based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky called it an important first step toward the proposed bank. He said the decision gives Revolut a foundation to build in the largest US market and reach millions of customers.
Conditional approval is not the finish line. It is paper permission with strings attached. Revolut still needs sign-off from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve before the bank can open.
What the OCC charter demands
The Revolut OCC charter comes with clear terms. Initial paid-in capital must sit at no less than $95 million once organizational and pre-opening costs are covered. The bank also has to hold a tier 1 leverage ratio of at least 10% through its first three years. Those figures show the regulator wants a cushion before Revolut takes a single deposit.
One service got left out. The preliminary approval does not cover Revolut’s proposed retail foreign exchange business. Before launching it, the firm must submit information for the OCC’s supervisory non-objection. For a company born from cross-border currency swaps, that carve-out stands out.
- ROX has finished its AI-driven manufacturing centre in Abu Dhabi and started building cars there.
- The first three ROX ADAMAS units left the line carrying the Made in the Emirates mark.
- The plant targets 20,000 cars in 2027, with plans to reach 300,000 a year by 2030.
- The project sits within the Make it in the Emirates programme and Operation 300Bn.
- ECONOMY
A 2027 timeline and a stablecoin plan
Revolut’s US bank launch plans point to 2027. US CEO Cetin Duransoy said the regulator moved fast enough to keep that timeline intact. He credited the OCC’s open dialogue through the review. Duransoy took the US top job in March, when former US chief Sid Jajodia moved into Revolut’s global banking role. Before Revolut, he led the US arm of Raisin and held senior posts at Capital One and Visa. The proposed bank would open with around 160 staff.
Here is the part my desk watches closely. Revolut plans to offer a Revolut stablecoin alongside FDIC-insured deposits, credit cards, and lending, all inside one app. The full Revolut US banking license would let the firm run that mix directly, not through a partner. Pairing insured accounts with digital assets under a single national bank charter is rare in the US.
Why the charter changes Revolut’s US math
Revolut entered the US market in 2020. Since then, it has run its business through partner banks. If you bank with Revolut in the US today, your deposits sit with a partner bank. That setup works, but it puts a middle layer between the app and the money. The partner holds funds, sets much of the compliance, and takes a cut. A charter lets Revolut hold customer money directly, issue its own cards, and design products on its own rails.
The Revolut national bank charter would let it plug into domestic payment systems like Fedwire and ACH. It would offer FDIC-insured accounts, the trust signal US consumers expect. Revolut Bank US would open lean, with a modest capital base, then scale as approvals land.
Part of a wider license grab
The US push fits a pattern. Revolut filed its US application in March, about six months before the OCC’s nod. Last September, the firm committed $13 billion toward global expansion, with $500 million earmarked for the US alone. This year, it won bank licenses in France, Australia, and the UK, plus a payments license in the UAE. It also launched a Mexican bank and reported regulatory progress across Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina.
By May, Revolut counted more than 70 million customers worldwide. Storonsky put the strategy in one line on LinkedIn, writing that “money doesn’t stop at borders, and banking shouldn’t either.” My read? The Revolut US banking license is the trophy in that collection. Land the final approvals, and Revolut stops renting a bank and starts being one.
