Revolut’s Rapid Product Approvals Caught Eye of EU Regulators

European regulators reportedly placed restrictions on Revolut last year over the speed of its product approvals.

The European Central Bank (ECB) last cut back on permission for Revolut’s European business to unveil new products in the European Economic Area (EEA) until it addressed “deficiencies” in its approval process, the Financial Times (FT) reported Wednesday (June 10), citing sources familiar with the matter.

The bank ordered the U.K. company to carry out a third-party review of its risk, compliance and legal functions related to the launch of new products in Europe, the report said.

The ECB also placed even tougher limits on Revolut’s European arm’s operations outside the EEA, the sources said, blocking it from onboarding new customers or making acquisitions in markets outside the continent.

“We are in continuous and constructive dialogue with our regulators, including the European Central Bank, as part of our normal course of operations as a fully licensed bank,” Revolut told the FT.

“Revolut is committed to the highest standards of governance and risk management. In line with supervisory expectations, we regularly strengthen our internal control environment and operational processes.”

According to the FT, the restrictions, undisclosed until now, threatened the strategy of Revolut co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky, who has praised staff as “self-guided missiles” provided the freedom to quickly develop and debut products with limited oversight.

Since last summer, one source said, Revolut has improved its product launch process, with in-house experts conducting enhanced reviews of the company’s new efforts.

The FT said it was unclear whether some of the restrictions were still in effect, though Revolut has in the last year introduced multiple products in Europe.

The report added that UK regulators had also worried about whether Revolut had proper controls to sustain its rapid growth, but ultimately granted the FinTech its long-awaited full banking license in March.

In other news, the company’s UK CEO said last week that Revolut plans to launch five credit cards in Great Britain.

“Credit cards [are] something that we are passionate about,” Francesca Carlesi said at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam, per a Bloomberg News report. “It’s going to go live soon.”

The company is also planning to include stablecoins as part of its banking offering in the U.S. after applying for an American banking charter in March.