Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast
00:14:28 · Amy Lewin, Tom Matsuda
[00:14:28] S0: So another question that always gets asked about Revolut is when is it going to IPO? Where might it IPO? Is it going to be London? [00:14:38] S1: I think Nik has been on the record in the past about criticizing the London stock exchanges as not really the place them and has publicly in the past said that if Revolut did IPO, it would be in The US. That seems to kind of reflect a wider move among other fintechs. Recently, just just to kind of compare the fellow neobanked, Darling, despite having most of its kind of customer base in UK, has has made more indications that it's willing to... Or look in The US if it were to IPO. [00:15:08] S0: And I found that really interesting because Storling doesn't even have a presence in The US at the moment, does it? And and when you speak to people like bankers, for example, that's always a big thing they point out. You know, they say everyone in the world or every every company in the world wants to IPO in The US. There's a huge queue of companies ready to IPO in The US when the markets really really open up again, and you need to be a really big business and ideally a business with a big customer base in The US in order to successfully list there. So so what's what's going on?
00:15:08 · Amy Lewin, Tom Matsuda
[00:15:08] S0: And I found that really interesting because Storling doesn't even have a presence in The US at the moment, does it? And and when you speak to people like bankers, for example, that's always a big thing they point out. You know, they say everyone in the world or every every company in the world wants to IPO in The US. There's a huge queue of companies ready to IPO in The US when the markets really really open up again, and you need to be a really big business and ideally a business with a big customer base in The US in order to successfully list there. So so what's what's going on? [00:15:41] S1: I mean, yeah, it's absolutely true. I mean, Starling doesn't have, you know, a kind of formalized retail banking offering in The US at the moment, but they are making pushes in the region. So Starling, alongside the kind of retail banking arm and their business banking arm as well, they have a software as a service product where they essentially sell the technology behind the bank to fintechs and also mid tier sized banks as well. And then currently kind of making a targeted push to take that to The US as well and even looking at possibly applying for a... Some sort of US banking license or making an acquisition to obtain a banking license that way. [00:16:22] S0: And what about Revolut's track record in The US?
00:16:22 · Amy Lewin, Tom Matsuda
[00:16:22] S0: And what about Revolut's track record in The US? [00:16:25] S1: So, yes, they... They've applied previously for a US banking license and sort of put that on the back burner. Last I heard back in November, I believe, at Slough, Nick spoke about possibly restarting those plans. But if I'm honest, it's been very quiet on that front. [00:16:42] S0: But I guess also that the IPO, you know, then it's not like they struggle in any way to raise money or make money. [00:16:48] S1: They don't. They they can stay private if they really, really want to. That... As shown with with the funding round that they're currently raising. It's huge 1,000,000,000 funding round. And, yeah, I mean, you... We've seen big companies in The US stay stay private. There isn't really, like, a pressing need for for Revolut, it seems, at this moment, to to IPO. [00:17:07] S0: Which other companies are on your radar, Tom? [00:17:10] S1: Yes. I mean, Revolut definitely takes up a lot of my time, for sure. But, obviously, Monzo, Starling, n twenty six, and Klarna. [00:17:18] S0: And what about... Is there a is there a trend? Is there a story? Is there a phenomenon that you're interested in and looking into at the moment?
00:17:18 · Amy Lewin, Tom Matsuda
[00:17:18] S0: And what about... Is there a is there a trend? Is there a story? Is there a phenomenon that you're interested in and looking into at the moment? [00:17:25] S1: Yes. So I have been looking... I think it was maybe a couple months ago when Klarna announced that they had to reduce reliance on on AI and actually had to hire remote teams to handle the customer service division. That was really, really interesting because, obviously, Klarna's been this huge kind of proponent of AI. And then kind of stepping back from that, I see as a signal that maybe there's a limit or at least a glass ceiling to what AI can do in financial services. And that's a topic I'm exploring at the moment. [00:17:57] S0: So any tips, listeners, send them [00:17:59] S1: Yes. [00:18:00] S0: Please Tom's way. He is Tom Matsuda at Sifted dot e u. And where else can people find you and follow you, John? [00:18:06] S1: You can reach me on LinkedIn. I'm also Tom Matsuda there.
00:18:06 · Tom Matsuda, Amy Lewin
[00:18:06] S1: You can reach me on LinkedIn. I'm also Tom Matsuda there. [00:18:10] S0: And, of course, sign up, subscribe to Tom's fantastic fintechs newsletter, which comes out every week, totally free on a Tuesday. And that is all we have time for now. Please let me know what you thought of this episode. And if you'd like to hear more from Sifted journalists, you can tell me which Sifted journalists you'd like to hear from as well. I am amysifted dot e u. It's really, really helpful to hear from our listeners, so please do get in touch. And as always, please rate and review the podcast to help us find new listeners and spread the love. This podcast was produced by the wonderful Maya Durampal Hornby.