Revolut to open branch in Portugal

Revolut, a financial application popular in the travel segment, is to open a branch office in Portugal and is applying for a national IBAN.

In an interview with the news agency Lusa, Rúben Germano, general manager and head of lending in Portugal said that for Revolut – which currently has a Lithuanian IBAN – it was essential to obtain a Portuguese IBAN in order to be able to operate a banking model more similar to the institutions that operate in the Portuguese market, and to launch financial products such as personal loans.
“Our goal is to comply with all of the regulatory requirements”, he added saying that Revolut was working with the Bank of Portugal in this respect.
“We want to go from being a company that is very focused on the travel segment to an institution that aims to be the main bank for its customers”, he said.
After launching personal loans, for which it requires a Portuguese IBAN, the bank will proceed with low-risk investment products, while credit cards could be another line of business.
When asked about customer doubts over non-traditional banks that don’t have branches but are technology based, Rúben Germano said that Revolut is covered by the deposits guarantee and has a banking licence in Lithuania, but says it has no plans to open branches.
Revolut global revenues increased 45% to €1.1Bn in 2022 and the group expects to bring in €2Bn this year. In Portugal the group has 1,300 staff. (9,000 worldwide)