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The European Central Bank moved to rein in Revolut’s operations last year, placing increased restrictions on the European arm of the continent’s most valuable fintech due to concerns over how the company rapidly approves new financial products.
The ECB temporarily curbed permission for the UK-based bank’s European division to release new products in the European Economic Area last summer, according to people familiar with the matter, until it had rectified “deficiencies” in approval processes. The bank was ordered to conduct a third party review of its risk, compliance and legal functions governing new product launches in Europe.
The restrictions were even tighter outside the bloc for Revolut’s European arm, preventing it from making acquisitions or bringing on new customers beyond the continent.
The restrictions, which have not been disclosed or reported before, posed a threat to the strategy of Revolut’s Russian-born co-founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky, who has lauded staff as “self-guided missiles” given the freedom to rapidly develop and launch products with only limited oversight.
That strategy has helped propel Revolut’s valuation ahead of most traditional European banks in a little over a decade by offering a fast-growing range of online financial services, and made Storonsky one of the UK’s richest men through his near 30 per cent stake in the company.
But the digital-first “neobank” has at times come into conflict with regulators, including in the UK where Storonsky once derided officials for being too slow and “principles-driven” before Revolut was approved for a full UK banking licence this year.
The ECB restrictions underline the tensions between fast-growing fintechs, and their disruptive effect on traditional banking, and the regulators tasked with protecting consumers and limiting risks to the wider financial system.
There are also longstanding questions over Europe’s ability to foster start-up champions compared with the US, with fears the regulatory environment stifles growth and innovation.
Revolut, which launched in the UK a little over a decade ago, has told investors that it aims to eventually go public with a $200bn valuation, the FT previously reported, which if achieved would eclipse the market capitalisation of most European banks, including UBS and Santander.
The ECB’s move last year came as Revolut was preparing for a share sale that valued the fintech at $75bn. Revolut’s European board was informed of the restrictions in July 2025. Its European operations are regulated through the ECB and the Bank of Lithuania, which awarded Revolut a European banking licence in 2018.
A person close to the company said that since last summer Revolut had improved its internal product launch process, with enhanced reviews of new initiatives by internal experts.
The FT could not establish if all the restrictions had been lifted or if some remained in place, but over the past year Revolut has launched a range of products — including mortgages, teen accounts and branches — across Europe, and grown its customer base.
The European Central Bank declined to comment.
Revolut said: “We are in continuous and constructive dialogue with our regulators, including the European Central Bank, as part of our normal course of operations as a fully licensed bank. 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.”
Revolut is currently running another share sale that has given it a $115bn valuation, according to people familiar with the matter, which would make it Europe’s seventh-largest bank by market capitalisation if it were a public company, ahead of Barclays, BNP Paribas and CaixaBank.
Revolut has also secured a banking licence in Mexico and made an application in March for a US banking charter.
Since its founding in 2015 Revolut has grown to 75mn customers and last year its pre-tax profits rose 57 per cent to £1.7bn on £4.5bn of revenues.
Storonsky has long modelled Revolut on a tech firm and described his hard-driving approach in a podcast hosted by venture capitalist Harry Stebbings in December 2024, where he said staff faced quarterly performance reviews and should behave like a “self-guided missile”.
“They press the button and they reach the goals themselves,” Storonsky said.
As part of the restrictions the ECB ordered that Revolut review the staffing levels, skills, competences and independence of its current approval methods, according to the people familiar with the matter.
It also ordered Revolut to make sure future products would get sign-off from “experts” employed by the company and urged the bank’s board to consider how new products would affect the group’s capital and liquidity levels.
British regulators were once concerned about whether the company had the risk functions to sustain the pace of its rapid growth, but granted Revolut a full UK banking licence in March after years of impasse.
In April, Revolut was fined €11.5mn in Italy for giving customers misleading information about fees and terms for its investment products.
Storonsky, who renounced his Russian citizenship following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, could acquire an additional 10 per cent of the company through a deal with investors if Revolut lists at a $200bn valuation.
