British Fintech Revolut Eyes CT HQ as it Seeks U.S. Bank Charter

British financial technology company Revolut plans to base a new U.S. banking entity in Stamford as it seeks federal approval to expand its operations in the American market.

The London-based firm announced Thursday it has applied to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for a national bank charter. If approved, the institution would operate as Revolut Bank US N.A.

A company spokesperson said the bank would be headquartered in Stamford once established, though Revolut has not yet signed a lease for office space. Revolut describes itself as a remote-first company and currently employs about 200 people across the United States, the spokesperson said.

The charter would allow Revolut to operate nationwide under a single federal regulatory framework and offer services including FDIC-insured deposits, credit cards and personal loans. It would also enable the company to connect directly to payment networks such as Fedwire and the Automated Clearing House system.

“The United States is a key pillar of our global growth strategy,” said Revolut co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky. “Filing for a national bank charter is a major milestone toward our vision of building the world’s first truly global banking platform.”

The company also announced that Cetin Duransoy has been appointed U.S. CEO. Duransoy most recently led the U.S. operations of fintech marketplace Raisin and previously held leadership roles at Capital One and Visa.

Founded in 2015, Revolut provides digital banking services through a mobile app that allows users to make payments, transfer money across borders and exchange currencies. The company says it has more than 70 million customers worldwide and operates in about 40 markets.

In the United States, Revolut has operated for several years through partner banks and serves more than 1 million users, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal also reported that Revolut plans to invest about $500 million in its U.S. expansion as part of a broader $13 billion global growth strategy over the next five years. The funding is expected to support the new bank’s capitalization, hiring, research and development, and marketing efforts.

Connecticut officials spent the past year courting the fintech giant.

AdvanceCT, a private nonprofit that acts as the state’s business recruitment and retention arm, reached out to Revolut a year ago, at a time the company had decided to make a move into the U.S. market, but had not settled on a location, said John Bourdeaux, president and CEO of AdvanceCT.

The outreach was part of a broader effort by AdvanceCT to recruit European financial technology firms operating in highly regulated markets, Bourdeaux said. Those markets include countries with strong regulatory oversight such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland, he said.

It started with an unsolicited email that led to regular communication about the business environment and regulations, sometimes several times a week. Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe spoke with Revolut representatives several times. Banking Commissioner Jorge L Perez became involved as well, Bourdeaux said.

The information provided by AdvanceCT and top-level leadership “radically de-risks” the choice to move to the state, Bourdeaux said.

“And so, they’re seeking and gathering information and our job, and our goal, was to become a trusted partner to them,” Bourdeaux said. “I think we succeeded in doing so.”

The state’s highly educated workforce and growing insurtech and fintech ecosystem with ties to globally respected industry giants helped convince Revolut, Bourdeaux said.

Bourdeaux declined to speak about the expected size of Revolut’s Connecticut operation, but characterized its pending arrival as a big achievement.

“They could have chosen to be anywhere,” he said. “This is one of the most highly valued, privately held fintech companies on the planet. I think it’s both a vote of confidence, and I think it is a look forward to where we’re going as a state. This is the type of confidence that people have in our ecosystem, in our environment and in the risk profile that Connecticut offers.”

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