Fintech start-up and challenger Revolut announced its application for a banking license in Lithuania. The announcement illustrates the financial services provider’s aim of becoming a full-fledged European challenger bank.

After three years active on the market, the start-up decided to move up and is in negotiation with the Bank of Lithuania to practice banking under a proper license. The financial services provider would then be able to provide, in addition to the current digital wallet and transaction services, credit and deposit solutions to its users, acquiring full bank status. This jump from Lithuania to the European market would be facilitated by the European banking passport system, allowing any bank licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA) to operate freely in member states’ markets.

The fintech company is expecting to be approved by the first half of next year, and is preparing the scene to invest in selected markets. In a move to cut inefficient third-party intermediaries, Revolut is building its own in-house payment processor to improve their services. Amongst the considered features, the company hinted cryptocurrency would be looked into and perhaps added to their services.

Challenger banks are getting intense lately in their expansion, as we saw N26’s moves to expand to UK and US, Starling Bank’s several integration and more recently Monzo’s EUR 93 million funding. This digital blooming is happening as bank jobs are disappearing, and is set to accelerate by the end of this year.

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