GLOBAL – British-based digital banking app Revolut has announced plans to expands into 24 new markets thanks to a new global deal with payments giant Visa Inc.
The firm is also planning to hire around 3500 staff to enable it to effectively expand into the 24 new markets.
The deal with Visa expands an existing agreement between the two firms and will see Revolut launch operations in eight new countries including Brazil, Japan, Russia and the United States by the end of this year.
The deal is not exclusive but will see at least 75% of all Revolut cards carry Visa branding rather than that of rivals such as Mastercard Inc.
Revolut’s founder and chief executive, Nikolay Storonsky in an interview with Reuters revealed that the fintech firm also has plans to launch operations in other Latin American and Asian markets next year.
The global push could see Revolut double or triple its customers in the next year, Storonsky said.
Storonsky also revealed that the expansion into new markets will be subject to Revolut getting the necessary regulatory approvals.
Revolut, one of a breed of new digital-only account providers taking aim at traditional high street banks, has grown at breakneck pace since its launch in July 2015 and now boasts more than 8 million customers.
Revolut’s average customer holds around 1000 euros in their account, giving a total deposit balance of around 8 billion euros ($8.74 billion) which is a minnow when compared to global banking giants like HSBC and JPMorgan with trillion-dollar-plus deposit totals.
But, along with its peers, Revolut has shocked incumbent banks into upping their digital game, as customers flock to Fintechs with their slicker apps, money management tools and attractive offers on foreign exchange.
The Revolut mobile app for instance supports spending and ATM withdrawals in 120 currencies and sending in 29 currencies directly from the app.
It also provides customers access to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and XRP by exchanging to or from 25 fiat currencies.
Revolut also offers multicurrency debit cards (prepaid) for their users to pay for in store purchases and online purchases.
