Revolut Considers Purchasing American Bank to Land US License

British FinTech Revolut is reportedly considering the purchase of an American bank.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (July 30) by the Financial Times (FT), which notes that such a move would allow Revolut to quickly clinch a banking license in the U.S.

Sources familiar with the matter told the FT Revolut was thinking about acquiring a nationally chartered bank, something that would let it lend in the U.S. 

They said this move would help the FinTech expand in the U.S. more rapidly than if it were to try to get its own banking license. The company would potentially go after a lower-cost bank that already has a national license, the sources said.

PYMNTS has contacted Revolut for comment but has not yet gotten a response.

The report notes that Revolt is among a host of European FinTechs eyeing the American market, which offers access to new customers and the potential for large deposits at a moment when many U.K. FinTechs are finding it harder to land new customers.

One source said Revolut has not made a concrete decision to acquire a U.S. bank, and was also mulling its own banking license rather than obtaining one via a takeover.

This source added that the Trump administration’s deregulation agenda had fostered a perception that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) would make it easier to get a banking charter.

Another source told the FT Revolut had also weighed similar plans to purchase a Middle Eastern bank as part of its worldwide expansion efforts.

The news follows reports from earlier this month that Revolut was in talks for a $1 billion deal to raise funds for its global expansion, bringing the company’s valuation to around $65 billion. Revolut was valued at $45 billion last summer.

And last month, Revolut announced it was acquiring Banco Cetelem, a small Argentinian lender owned by BNP Paribas.

PYMNTS also reported earlier this month that several other FinTechs including Wise, Ripple and Circle have recently applied to the OCC for national trust bank charters.

“In doing so, should the applications be approved, the charters would allow these firms to sidestep the piecemeal approach of obtaining state-by-state licenses, and in other cases (as would be seen with Wise, which is based in the U.K.), relying on correspondent banking for cross-border money movement,” that report said.

“Without a charter in hand, the FinTechs would traditionally seek 50 state-by-state money transmitter licenses, or they could seek to own a bank (as has been seen with the likes of LendingClub) or become one.”

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