Revolut wants to be your main bank, not a travel card
Revolut is trying to move from a travel card to the account where people receive salary, spend, save and invest. Swan, who runs retail strategy, argues that simple digital onboarding, customer control and a steady stream of launches are what let it compete with established banks. With over 40m customers, the company still behaves like a startup and sees mortgages and insurance as the next areas to disrupt.
Takeaways
- Revolut wants to be the primary account. Swan calls the travel card label a misconception. The focus is on salary, spending, saving and investing in one app, a financial super app. Joint accounts and group chat bill splitting are recent launches aimed at that goal.
- Simplicity and digital-first set it apart. An account opens in minutes from a phone, with a card delivered in a couple of days. Customers can send money in more than 70 currencies and hold up to 30, exchanging at rates they choose.
- Customer control drives the currency design. Rather than converting money on arrival, Revolut lets users hold a currency and spend it later, such as before a European trip. Swan calls control the fundamental principle behind the product.
- Product speed is the edge over old banks. Swan credits launches that arrive every month, quarter and year. His advice for crowded markets is a laser focus on customer experience, as with Apple and Amazon.
- Mortgages and insurance are the next frontier. Swan says Revolut has disrupted the industry since 2015 but has a long way to go. A culture of 10x growth and areas like mortgages and insurance, where disruption is only beginning, show the room left.
- A meritocratic, owner-like culture keeps the startup mindset. Swan says the best ideas win regardless of seniority or age, and founders Nick and Vlad foster owner behavior and failing fast. He sees no single moment when Revolut stopped being a startup.
- Roundups show the savings approach. Spare change roundups move the rounded-up amount into savings, such as 20p from a £3.80 coffee. Users can add a multiplier and link roundups to a pocket like a summer trip, reaching goals without thinking.
What comes next for Revolut retail
- More customers will use Revolut as their primary account in the coming year and beyond.
- Local IBAN-style account details across Europe will let customers pay utility bills.
- Savings and credit products will sit alongside the account.
- Revolut is a licensed bank in Europe, and UK customers have account numbers and sort codes.
- Swan says customers get hooked once they start spending, saving and using the products.