Revolut points its listing at the US
Nik Storonsky says a primary US listing was always the target if Revolut goes public, though not before 2028. In the meantime he wants credit cards and loans in America that match JPMorgan's and American Express's, once Revolut has a full banking charter.
Julian Gojani via UnsplashRevolut would choose the United States for its primary listing if it goes public, Nik Storonsky, its founder and chief executive, said on Thursday. "That was always the target, given the deep liquidity of the US market," he told Bloomberg Television, according to Bloomberg's report carried by The Business Times.
A listing is not imminent. Storonsky has said before that Revolut would not go public until at least 2028, and that it could do so through a dual listing in the UK and the US. In an interview with the French newspaper Les Echos last month he said the company was considering listing on both the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, according to Retail Banker International. A twin listing remains an option, but the US is the preferred venue because of the scale of its investor capital, he said. Any listing is at least a year away and will depend on market conditions, Investing.com reported.
For London, the choice matters. Revolut is Europe's most valuable startup and is valued at $115bn privately, more than the stock market value of Britain's Barclays and France's Societe Generale, Investing.com said. It is in the middle of a secondary share sale at that valuation, according to Bloomberg.
The listing plan comes with a plan to compete in American banking. Revolut received preliminary approval for a US national bank licence in September, after securing licences in Britain and France earlier this year, Investing.com reported. Storonsky said the company plans to introduce credit cards and loans in the US once it receives a full banking charter. "Our offering will be at par with Amex or JPMorgan Chase," he said, adding that Revolut would also offer products that those companies do not.
He did not play the ambition down. "We want to dominate," Storonsky said. "Otherwise, what's the point?" Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, said earlier this year that he is "jealous" of Revolut, which has become one of the bank's biggest retail rivals in Europe, Bloomberg noted. Storonsky said he is coming for Dimon's "dinner" and wants American consumers to see the company as "a new JPMorgan".
Revolut offers checking and savings accounts, international money transfers, crypto and stock trading, and bill payment and budgeting tools. It is targeting 100 million customers across 100 countries and is eyeing $100bn of revenue, according to Bloomberg. Storonsky said the company is building its AI assistant, AIR, to shop for customers on its own, a capability known as agentic commerce, and plans to test it in December, probably first in the UK.
He presented technology, not acquisitions, as the way to expand. "Because of our innovation, because of our lower fees, we are forcing the banks also to slash their pricing, also to innovate," Storonsky said.
Revolut is one of several fintech companies trying to turn into a bank in the US rather than rent one. Chime last month agreed to buy the bank it had partnered with for seven years. For Revolut, the order Storonsky described runs the charter first, then the cards and loans that would make a US business worth listing there.