Accelerating its European localization strategy, global financial platform Revolut has officially submitted an application for a local banking license to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). The regulatory submission, which is currently under review, is anchored by a major commitment to invest more than CHF 150 million into the Swiss market over the next five years.
Representing one of the largest foreign financial-sector investments in Switzerland in recent decades, the capital injection will fund local product development, job creation, and senior executive hires. With over 1.3 million active users in the country, Revolut is already Switzerland’s leading fintech. However, Swiss clients are currently serviced through Revolut Bank UAB—a European entity licensed in Lithuania that operates locally via a representative office. Establishing a dedicated, FINMA-regulated Swiss bank represents a decisive move to anchor its operations directly within one of the world’s premier wealth and banking hubs.
Delivering a Native Banking Experience with Swiss Standards
Securing a full FINMA banking license will allow Revolut to combine its global technological infrastructure with local regulatory guarantees. Upon regulatory approval, existing Swiss users will be transitioned through a seamless onboarding process to the new entity.
The transition will unlock a fully localized product suite designed to compete directly with traditional domestic retail banks, including:
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Localized Infrastructure: Issuance of native Swiss IBANs, enabling direct salary deposits and primary account usage.
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Domestic Payment Integration: Integration with eBill and local merchant acquiring rails.
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Regulatory Protection: Direct coverage under Switzerland’s established deposit guarantee scheme.
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Future Ecosystem Offerings: Planned evaluations for Pillar 3a pension accounts and TWINT mobile payment system integration.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for Revolut’s European strategy,” stated David Tirado, chief commercial officer at Revolut. “By applying for a Swiss banking licence, we are taking an important step towards becoming a more deeply rooted part of one of the world’s most important and advanced financial markets. Together with our existing banking licences and regulatory infrastructure across Europe, this would further strengthen our compliance, governance and regulatory framework.”
Building an Independent Regional Leadership Structure
To support the transition toward an autonomous, locally anchored banking institution, Revolut is making strategic appointments to its Executive Board and senior leadership team in Zurich. The local management layer will oversee regulatory compliance, risk management, and market-specific product execution.
“Revolut is already Switzerland’s leading fintech. With our own banking licence, we would become a true Swiss bank, able to offer our more than 1.3 million customers our leading Revolut banking product with a Swiss finish,” added Julian Biegmann, general manager for Switzerland. “Clients would be able to receive their salaries to their Revolut account and manage all their finances—from spending, to investing, and beyond—with the product experience they already know and trust.”
Scaling Global Footprint Across Regulated Markets
Originally founded in the United Kingdom in 2015 as a foreign exchange and money transfer service, Revolut has expanded into a global financial powerhouse serving more than 80 million retail and business customers worldwide, processing over one billion transactions monthly.
By layering a FINMA license on top of its existing European banking licenses and regulatory permissions, Revolut is establishing the infrastructure required to capture market share from legacy incumbent banks across high-value European wealth corridors.
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