Revolut Expands Into Lending and Private Markets
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Revolut wants to lend you money now, too.
The digital bank has started offering personal loans in the UK, with selected customers able to borrow between £2,000 and £25,000. It plans to make them available to all 14 million UK customers over the coming months.
And Revolut isn’t stopping at loans. UK CEO Francesca Carlesi said credit cards are next, with mortgages also in the plans for the longer term.
The goal? Get customers to do more of their banking with Revolut and bring in more revenue along the way.
But lending isn’t without its risks. Revolut needs to work out who’s likely to pay back what they borrow, so it’s combining its own credit checks with external data. Over time, it also plans to shift much of the lending risk to investors.
Through its newly established Revolut Ventures, developed in partnership with Carne Group, the FinTech plans to give eligible customers access to investments in high-growth private companies. The platform is expected to launch in 2027 and will sit alongside Revolut’s existing investment options.
Put the two moves together, and you can see the bigger strategy: Revolut wants to become more than the app you use to transfer money. It wants to be where you borrow, invest and manage more of your financial life.
Here’s what else is happening in digital banking today👇
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
💡 Europe’s 10 Most Valuable Banks. Revolut has reached a $115 billion valuation, ranking seventh among Europe’s most valuable banks and moving ahead of BNP Paribas ($114B), ING ($99B) and CaixaBank ($94B). The biggest contrast is in revenue multiples: Revolut trades at 19.2x revenue, compared with just 1.5x for BNP Paribas. The ranking highlights the difference in how investors value digital-first banking models and established European banking groups.
NEWS
🇬🇧 Revolut launches personal loans in the UK, taking on major banks. Loans range from £2,000 to £25,000 with rates of 6.9% to 29.3%. Revolut will first offer them to selected customers among its 14 million UK users.
🇪🇺 Revolut launches Revolut Ventures in collaboration with Carne Group. The platform will connect selected investors with unlisted tech companies directly in the Revolut app. It follows the launch of Private Markets in select EEA markets in July 2026.
🇵🇭 Revolut is in active talks with the Philippine central bank for a digital banking license. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Revolut must pass its assessment, including requirements for a foreign bank presence. Revolut began operating its Manila Global Technology Hub in July 2025.
🇪🇬 MIDBANK secures FRA approval to launch a digital finance company for SMEs. The new unit, MIDBANK Digital Finance for Small and Medium Enterprises, will develop financing solutions tailored to the needs of SMEs. The bank will announce further details of its services and operating mechanisms later.
🇨🇦 Vancity selects Temenos SaaS to modernize its core banking platform. Canada's largest credit union, with CAD $42.4 billion in assets, will introduce new digital banking capabilities while progressively modernizing operations. The program covers Temenos Core, Payments Hub and Data Hub on Microsoft Azure.
🇨🇦 Brim Financial partners with Manulife Bank to modernize its credit cards and payments. Manulife Bank will move its credit card portfolio to Brim's platform, which brings issuing, processing, servicing and loyalty together. The platform sits within Manulife Bank's digital banking experience.
🇺🇸 Miami startup BOB raises $5.5M to build an AI banking platform. The seed round was led by Mischief, from Plaid founder Zak Perret. BOB will use the capital to expand its product and grow its Miami team.
🇮🇹 Bank of Italy urges banks to invest in digital asset technologies despite uncertainty. Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti encouraged lenders to start with small-scale experiments and gradual investments, warning that delaying adoption could limit learning and future business opportunities.
🇺🇸 Wells Fargo, Intuit and others object to their shares being tokenized. According to a regulatory document reviewed by Reuters, 22 companies have opposed plans by OKX and Intercontinental Exchange to offer tokenized versions of their stocks. Under the SEC's new exemption, platforms cannot list tokenized shares if the issuing company objects.
🌏 Tech Mahindra acquires three cash management products from Finastra. The deal covers Fusion Cash Management, Fusion Virtual Accounts and Fusion Liquidity Management, including their IP. It expands Tech Mahindra's banking software portfolio, and financial terms were not disclosed.
🇧🇷 Itaú Unibanco acquires Brazilian AI startup NeoSpace in a $580M cash deal. The acquisition will help the bank build its own AI models. NeoSpace keeps its autonomous management, with founder Bruno Pierobon remaining CEO.
🇿🇦 Paymentology expands its Mukuru partnership, powering a new Account & Card in South Africa. Offered with Bank Zero as sponsor bank, the card lets customers receive salaries, pay local bank accounts and send money abroad. Around 500,000 existing Mukuru prepaid cardholders can move onto the new proposition.
🇷🇴 Salt Bank names Roxana Cristea as Chief Business Officer, pending regulatory approval. She will oversee product development, commercial operations and customer service, drawing on her experience launching digital loans, virtual credit cards and mortgage solutions.
🇬🇧 Lloyds names Javier Rodríguez de Colmenares as group chief risk officer. He takes over the bank's risk function from Stephen Shelley, who retired after 15 years. He joins from Santander, where he was global chief risk officer for three years.
Trusted reach among senior decision-makers in FinTech, Payments & Banking.
👉 Explore Partnership here
