Revolut Mulls Private Banking as Trading Business Expands

Revolut has received regulatory permission to expand the scope of its trading business.

The approval from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will allow Revolut Trading to bring “investment, advisory and portfolio management under one roof,” Victoria Laffey, the unit’s head of operations, said in a news release provided to PYMNTS on Thursday (May 14).

The approval, the release added, will help Revolut bring more sophisticated wealth management alongside the company’s banking and payment services.

Revolut Trading says it is revamping its model to offer more competitive pricing and a wider suite of products — including managed portfolio solutions and private wealth services — to serve retail investors, private clients and “High Net Worth individuals” in one ecosystem.

“Our mission has always been to remove the friction of fragmented financial services; and we can now put sophisticated wealth management products and tools in the hands of every type of investor, helping our customers build and manage wealth with confidence,” Laffey added.

The FCA’s approval follows the recent launch of Revolut’s bank in the U.K. The company says it plans to integrate advances in artificial intelligence (AI) into its investment service, with an emphasis on improving the way customers manage their portfolios and financial decisions.

Meanwhile, a report Thursday by the Financial Times, citing sources with knowledge of the company’s plans, said Revolut is hoping to launch private banking services later this year for clients with at least 500,000 pounds to deposit.

“Private banking is an area we’re exploring as part of our ongoing efforts to expand and enhance our product offerings,” Revolut said in a statement to PYMNTS on that topic. “We have no further details to share at this stage.”

Writing about Revolut’s place on the FinTech landscape earlier this year, PYMNTS said the company’s results showed the importance of diversification, as its revenue mix encompasses subscriptions, payments, wealth and interest income.

This lessens dependence on any one line as the company looks to expand, including by seeking a banking charter in the U.S., the report added.

“Firms that lack that breadth may find that a charter adds cost without delivering sufficient returns,” PYMNTS wrote. “For banks and FinTechs, the competitive lines are becoming more clearly drawn, and are no longer between incumbents and apps. The jousting is between institutions that control the balance sheet and those that do not.”