Revolut wins Australian banking licence as Asia-Pacific push expands

Revolut has received a full authorised deposit-taking institution licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, giving the fintech its first banking entity in Asia-Pacific. The approval allows Revolut to operate as a licensed bank in Australia, where it says it serves more than one million retail customers.

The licence gives Revolut room to widen its Australian product set, including savings and credit products, according to the company. In practical terms, an ADI licence is the regulatory permission required for an institution to take deposits in Australia under APRA supervision, placing the business inside the country’s banking regulatory framework rather than outside it as a non-bank financial services provider.

Revolut has linked the approval to a planned investment of nearly A$400 million in Australia over the next five years. The company said that spending would cover product development, growth initiatives and its local employer presence.

Nik Storonsky, Revolut’s founder and chief executive, said the Australian bank launch had been a long-term strategic priority for the group and represented another step toward its aim of building a global bank. He said securing a licence in Australia, which he described as highly regulated and competitive, reflected the company’s business model and its teams.

The Australian approval extends Revolut’s regulated banking footprint beyond Europe and the Americas. The company operates across more than 40 markets and is now licensed as a bank in the UK, Mexico, the European Economic Area and Australia, according to Revolut.

Revolut recently began full banking operations in Mexico, described by the company as its first fully licensed banking entity outside Europe. That business serves more than 500,000 retail customers, according to Revolut.

The company is also pursuing other regulatory approvals as part of its international expansion. Revolut has an active application for a bank charter in the United States, has secured regulatory licences in the United Arab Emirates and has received an Organisation Authorisation in Peru.

Regulation shapes Revolut’s expansion path

For digital finance firms, bank licences can alter the commercial model by allowing a wider range of balance-sheet products, subject to local capital, conduct and prudential requirements. In Australia, the ADI framework places deposit-taking institutions under APRA’s oversight, a key condition for firms seeking to compete more directly with established banks in savings and lending.

The approval also adds to a sequence of licensing milestones for Revolut. The company obtained a full UK banking licence in March 2026, according to Finextra reporting, after earlier building its European banking operations through the EEA. Its push into Mexico, Australia, the US, the UAE and Peru indicates a strategy based on securing local authorisations rather than relying only on cross-border financial services permissions.

Revolut has not announced specific launch dates for individual Australian savings or credit products in the information disclosed. The company’s next steps in Australia will depend on how it rolls out bank products under the new licence and how local regulators assess its compliance as the business grows.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.