Revolut's rise to $115 billion valuation challenges Europe's banking giants

October 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Revolut has become Europe's most valuable startup at a $115 billion private valuation, surpassing Barclays and Societe Generale. The London-based fintech's 2025 pretax profit reached £1.7 billion, though it remains a fraction of Barclays' £9 billion. Its rapid growth has made it the most-complained-about bank in Britain for fraud cases in 2024 and 2025, according to Ombudsman data compiled by Which?.

Key Facts

Revolut is valued at $115 billion privately, more than Britain's Barclays and France's Societe Generale.
Revolut's 2025 pretax profit was £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion), compared with Barclays' £9 billion.
In 2024 and 2025, Revolut was the most-complained-about bank in Britain for fraud cases, according to Ombudsman data compiled by Which?.
Revolut received a fine in Lithuania for failing to prevent money laundering, though it said no confirmed instances were identified.
In September, Revolut accidentally sent customer data to hackers posing as government investigators.

Global Expansion

CEO Nik Storonsky has stressed he wants Revolut to be truly global, expanding into markets from Mexico to Australia. The company has announced several new licences in recent weeks, aiming to become one of only a handful of banks with retail operations spanning so much of the globe. Meanwhile, some traditional lenders seen as global, including HSBC, are reducing their retail footprint. Paulo Macedo, CEO of Portugal's Caixa Geral de Depósitos, said in June that 2025 was the last year in which the 150-year-old bank would record higher profit than Revolut. Cihan Duran, director at S&P Global Ratings, said European bank CEOs are talking about Revolut as their most important threat because of its aggressive marketing and growth.

Setbacks and Challenges

In the US, where Revolut has a provisional license, it will face tougher competition, investors said. Konstantin Sidorov, CEO of the London Technology Club, said the US could be the biggest growth for Revolut but is also the most competitive market. Revolut was fined in Lithuania for failing to prevent money laundering, though the company said an investigation had not identified any confirmed instances and it had signed a settlement with the central bank. In September, Revolut accidentally sent customer data to hackers posing as government investigators; the company said its systems and customer funds were unaffected. In 2024 and 2025, Revolut was the most-complained-about bank in Britain in fraud cases whereby customers are tricked into sending cash to scammers, Ombudsman data compiled by Which? showed.