Today was a good day for challenger bank Revolut, who early this morning announced a new raise of around €460 million in Series D funding, taking the total amount raised by the company to €769 million. These fresh funds set Revolut as one of the highest valued fintechs currently in the world, at approximately €5 billion.
Revolut, which now has over 10 million customers across the world, was launched in July 2015 as a digital alternative to traditional banks. With London as its base, Revolut has expanded to 2000 people in 23 offices, and continues to hit the headlines with news like its unicorn status, fresh features and timely market dominations.
The new capital was secured on the back of high customer demand and engagement, and a strong financial performance last year. In 2019, Revolut increased customer growth by 169%, the number of daily active customers by 380%, and saw financial revenues in 2018 grow by 354%.
Led by US-based growth capital firm TCV, plus support from existing investors, the new funds will be used to optimise customer experience, the core retail and business offering in existing markets, and product development. Customers can look forward to future plans like lending services for retail and business customers, extending high interest savings accounts beyond the UK, optimised customer service and banking operations across Europe.
Revolut will also focus on further developing its Premium and Metal subscription accounts, which have proven to be a successful revenue stream for the business, growing by 154% last year. Revolut’s Premium and Metal accounts include a variety of benefits for customers, such as unlimited foreign exchange, airport lounge access, commission-free stock trading and travel insurance.
Revolut also has geographical expansion on its mind, and will continue growing its team across multiple locations. Last year it made a number of senior appointments to scale up its governance, such as Martin Gilbert (former Co-Chief Executive of Standard Life Aberdeen) as Chairman of the Board. Additionally, Caroline Britton (former Audit Partner at Deloitte) and Bruce Wallace (former Chief Operations Officer at Silicon Valley Bank) were both appointed as Non-Executive Directors.
Commenting on the new investment, Nik Storonsky, Founder & CEO at Revolut said: “We’re on a mission to build a global financial platform – a single app where our customers can manage all of their daily finances, and this investment demonstrates investor confidence in our business model. Going forward, our focus is on rolling-out banking operations in Europe, increasing the number of people who use Revolut as their daily account, and striving towards profitability. TCV has a long history of backing founders who are changing their industries on a global scale, so we are excited to partner with them as we prepare for the next stage of our journey.”
Commenting on the investment, John Doran, General Partner at TCV said: “We are delighted to partner with Nik, Vlad and the entire Revolut team. Using a modern technology stack and with a relentless focus on delighting customers, Revolut has built a truly exceptional customer experience that is exceeding anything that existing banks can offer. We look forward to supporting the team on their journey to build Revolut into one of the biggest financial services companies in the world.”
John Glen MP, the UK Economic Secretary and City Minister said: “It is clear that the UK fintech sector continues to thrive, and Revolut’s announcement, which comes on the back of record-breaking fintech venture capital investment in 2019, is a clear indicator of our strength as a place for fintech business as we leave the EU.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com/ by contact@bcurdy.com, Khareem Sudlow
