Revolut has submitted an application for a local banking licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the fintech firm announced on Wednesday. The application is currently under review, and its outcome remains open.
If granted, the licence would allow Revolut to offer a complete banking service in Switzerland, including Swiss IBANs, salary accounts, eBill, merchant acquiring, and deposit protection under Swiss standards. The company is also considering a future Pillar 3a retirement product and a Twint payments offering.
Revolut already counts more than 1.3 million customers in Switzerland, who are currently served by Revolut Bank UAB, its Lithuania-licensed entity with a representative office in the country.
Alongside the licence application, Revolut said it will invest more than CHF 150 million in the Swiss market over the next five years, calling it one of the largest financial sector investments in Switzerland in decades. The company also plans new appointments to its executive board and senior leadership team as it builds out an independent Swiss banking entity.
David Tirado, Chief Commercial Officer at Revolut, described the move as “a pivotal moment” for the company’s European strategy, while Julian Biegmann, General Manager for Switzerland, said a local licence would let Revolut operate as “a true Swiss bank.”
The announcement comes days after Revolut confirmed a data breach affecting a “very limited” number of customers. The company said fraudulent requests from a legitimate government agency email domain led to the disclosure of sensitive customer information, including identity documents, though it said customer funds and systems were unaffected.
