Report: Revolut Looks to Expand Digital Banking License Effort to Middle East

Revolut is reportedly looking to expand its business into Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-member countries.

The British FinTech has submitted applications to become an electronic-money institution and offer remittances in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is seeking ways to expand in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported Friday (Sept. 13), citing unnamed sources.

The company also plans to hire a head of finance to join its existing team in the UAE, a head of legal for the region, and staffers for a variety of roles in Dubai, the report said, citing published job listings.

Reached by PYMNTS, Revolut declined to comment on the report.

The FinTech company has 9 million customers in the United Kingdom and has been working to grow in other countries, according to the report. In recent months, Revolut began operating in Mexico, Brazil and New Zealand. It also plans to expand in India.

Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky said at the Dubai Fintech Summit in May, per the report: “We want to build a truly global bank.”

The company said in July that it doubled its revenue last year — boosting it from $1.1 billion in 2022 to $2.2 billion in 2023 — and added 12 million new customers, bringing the total to 45 million as of June 2024.

Storonsky said at the time of the release of Revolut’s 2023 annual report that the company is committed to “bringing the Revolut app to new markets and customers around the world.”

In August, Revolut Business expanded the availability of its “borderless financial super app for businesses” to Singapore and said it is looking to add other markets. In a post on LinkedIn that announced the news, the company asked: “Where should we launch next?”

Also in August, Revolut and Visa said they formed a cross-border business payments pact that allows instant card transfers for Revolut’s business customers via the Visa Direct system.

The two companies also collaborated in 2023 to offer card transfers powered by Visa Direct for peer-to-peer payments to roughly 90 countries, and launched a series of virtual cards for business focused on the B2B travel sector earlier this year.