Revolut Gets Conditional OCC OK for US Banking Charter

U.K.-based FinTech Revolut is one step closer to launching its American banking business.

The company announced Thursday (Sept. 3) that it had received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its U.S. national bank charter.

“Conditional OCC approval is an important first step towards establishing the proposed Revolut Bank US,” Revolut Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky said in a news release. “It gives us the foundation to build in the world’s largest financial market and bring the full Revolut experience to millions of Americans.”

Revolut says it is now working on its remaining applications and approvals with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve, and to obtain final approval from the OCC as it moves toward its planned launch of the proposed bank next year.

“Conditional U.S. OCC approval is a significant milestone on Revolut’s journey to become the world’s first truly global bank,” the release said.

“Once all approvals are received, Revolut will be able to directly offer U.S. customers a wide range of banking products including loans, credit cards, FDIC-insured deposits, as well as access to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, delivering the full Revolut experience Americans have been waiting for.”

Revolut’s planned U.S. launch is part of a wider, ongoing expansion for the company, which recently launched its Mexican bank and has been at work on gaining regulatory approvals in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

Outside of the Americas, Revolut has this year won bank licenses in France, Australia and the U.K., a payments license in the UAE, and is moving toward a bank license in South Africa. Revolut plans to launch in that country by 2028, and already has a waitlist of close to 100,000 registrations, PYMNTS reported in June.

The company says it is on pace to reach 100 million customers by the middle of next year, and announced last week it was debuting a European stablecoin. The EURR coin is pegged to the euro and is being rolled out first to Revolut customers in Denmark, Poland and Portugal before expanding to other corners of the European Economic Area later this year.

“This is only the first step in our vision for a full suite of Revolut stablecoins, denominated in several additional currencies,” the company said.