Revolut eyes global expansion with plans to raise $500M

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U.K.-based banking app Revolut is planning global expansion, amid a drive to raise a further $500 million from investors, Reuters reported. The digital bank is already making in-roads domestically, with plans for expansion into Japan and the United States, pending completion of an upcoming funding round.

The combination of attractive banking apps, competitive forex rates, and suite of money management tools have given the firm a steal on incumbent banks in the U.K., with users flocking to the service.

With a further $500 million in his sights, CEO and co-founder Nikolay Storonsky expects the funding would help the firm continue its rapid growth globally.

“We want to raise at least $500 million in direct equity and potentially, maybe at a later stage, up to $1 billion in convertible (debt). We have done soft marketing with investors and we are continuing doing it, so hopefully in the next several months, we’ll get it done,” Storonsky told the news outlet.

Since launching in 2015, Revolut has exploded in popularity, with as many as 8 million customers using its services.

Launches in Singapore and the United States this year, alongside partnerships with payment giants Visa and Mastercard, are expected to compound that growth. As a result, the company is working on expanding its staff of 1,800 to 5,000 globally.

Storonsky said there was still appetite from investors for backing “good healthy businesses,” and that while market conditions were now more focused than in the past, it was still hopeful of securing the investment: “There’s still demand for good healthy businesses but investors are now much more focused on profitability and unit economics compared to a year or two years ago when it was all about growth and market domination.”

The app is currently in talks with private investors over the funding, which it hopes to secure over the coming months. With the funding in place, Revolut would be primed to accelerate its operations in the U.S. and Japan in 2020.

The firm posted a net loss for 2018 of £33 million on revenue of £58 million, up from revenues of £13 million in 2017.