ECB reins in Revolut over rapid-fire product launches | Scottish Financial News
SUBSCRIBE
Article Tags:
revolut
banking
ECB reins in Revolut over rapid-fire product launches
10 Jun 2026
Reading time: 3 minutes
Article Tags:
revolut
banking
The European Central Bank moved to restrict the operations of Revolut’s European arm last year, citing concerns over how rapidly the fintech approved new financial products.
The curbs, not previously reported, were communicated to Revolut’s European board in July 2025, just as the company was preparing a share sale valuing it at $75bn.<br>According to people familiar with the matter, the ECB temporarily withdrew permission for the bank’s European division to launch new products across the European Economic Area until it had remedied "deficiencies" in its approval processes.<br>Revolut was ordered to commission a third-party review of the risk, compliance and legal functions governing new product launches, and to assess the staffing, skills and independence of those approval methods, Financial Times reports.<br>The regulator further required that future products secure sign-off from in-house experts, and urged the board to weigh the effect of new launches on group capital and liquidity. Tighter restrictions applied to activities outside the EEA, where the European business was barred from taking on new customers or making corporate acquisitions.<br>The constraints struck at the strategy of co-founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky, who has likened staff to "self-guided missiles" empowered to develop and launch products with limited oversight. That approach has driven Revolut’s valuation ahead of most traditional European lenders within little over a decade and made Storonsky one of the UK’s wealthiest individuals through his near 30% holding.<br>Revolut’s European operations are overseen by the ECB and the Bank of Lithuania, which granted the firm a European banking licence in 2018. A person close to the company said its product-launch process had since been strengthened, with enhanced internal review of new initiatives.<br>It remains unclear whether all the restrictions have been lifted, though over the past year Revolut has rolled out mortgages, teen accounts and branches across Europe while expanding its customer base.<br>Revolut said it was in "continuous and constructive dialogue" with regulators and committed to the highest standards of governance and risk management.<br>A spokesperson added: "Revolut is committed to the highest standards of governance and risk management. In line with supervisory expectations, we regularly strengthen our internal control environment and operational processes."<br>The episode highlights the recurring friction between fast-growing fintechs and the regulators charged with protecting consumers and containing systemic risk, as well as longstanding doubts over Europe’s capacity to nurture start-up champions. Mr Storonsky has previously criticised UK officials as too slow and "principles-driven" before Revolut secured a full UK banking licence in March, after years of impasse over whether its risk functions could sustain such rapid growth.<br>Founded in 2015, Revolut now serves 75 million customers, and last year pre-tax profits rose 57% to £1.7 billion on revenues of £4.5bn. It is running a further share sale valuing it at $115bn (c. £86bn), which would make it Europe’s seventh-largest bank by market capitalisation were it public, ahead of Barclays, BNP Paribas and CaixaBank.<br>The company has secured a banking licence in Mexico, applied for a US banking charter in March, and told investors it aims eventually to float at a $200bn (c. £150bn) valuation.
Join Scotland's business professionals in receiving our FREE daily email newsletter
Subscribe
Share this article:
Subscribe to our newsletter to not miss articles like this one:
SUBSCRIBE
Related Articles
15 Oct 2025
2 minutes
Revolut’s UK banking licence faces fresh delays over risk concerns
9 Apr 2025
2 minutes
Revolut hit with record €3.5m fine by Lithuania for AML shortcomings
12 Mar 2026
3 minutes
Revolut receives full UK banking licence
6 Sep 2022
1 minute
Revolut under scrutiny after FRC criticises payment processes
Join Scotland's business professionals in receiving our FREE daily email newsletter
Scottish Financial News is your daily service for the latest news, jobs and events, delivered directly to your email inbox.
Subscribe