Revolut launches app redesign, reaches 840,000 U.S. customers

As challenger bank Revolut surpasses 35 million customers worldwide, the London-based firm is looking to kick-start its growth in the U.S. with an app redesign that highlights recent features including a robo-advisor and support for immigrants. At the same time, the company has suffered setbacks such as a data breach and staffing issues.

The company quietly launched in the U.S. in 2020 and currently has 840,000 U.S. customers, according to U.S. CEO Sid Jajodia. It has been trying to replicate domestically the payments empire it has already built overseas; Revolut is one of the largest fintechs in Europe and has an outsize influence on entrepreneurship regionally, with 26 of its former employees spinning up startups worth more than $1 billion each currently or at exit according to a report from Accel and Dealroom.co.

As the company continues trying to acquire U.S. customers, it has launched a redesign of its app globally to highlight recent features and upgrades. The launch is part of Revolut's effort to establish itself as a "super app" offering all things money to its customers.

While analysts have previously looked skeptically on Revolut's strategy as being a "jack of all trades and master of none," Jajodia, in an email, insisted that Revolut has differentiated itself in the U.S. for people who travel a lot globally or send money internationally and immigrants and expats looking to integrate their financial life in the U.S. from another country.

"However, we're not limited to serving immigrants and expats," Jajodia said. "We're focused on building for U.S. mainstream customers and delivering convenience and value through a complete suite of services. To that end, we're working on launching credit and high-yield savings products in the U.S. market soon."

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In the U.S., Revolut has already launched a suite of products that range from the basics — including a savings account backed by Sutton Bank with 3.25% APY (paying members get 4.25%) and a checking account with a prepaid debit card backed by Metropolitan Commercial Bank (premium members get a metal card) — to more specialized features, including commission-free stock and ETF trading and international transfers to accounts in more than 150 countries.

One of the two major new features Revolut is touting amid the launch of its app redesign, which it has dubbed Revolut 10, is automated investing. The company launched the feature this summer for U.S. customers. For an annual fee of 0.25% and a monthly minimum of 25 cents, customers get a robo-advisor to help them create investment portfolios.

The second major feature Revolut is touting is accounts for people who are lawfully in the U.S. but who don't have a Social Security number. According to the company, there are 2.5 million people in the U.S. who qualify for such an account, of which 1 million are students. All of them are in the country on some kind of visa and are "generally ignored by financial institutions," the company said in a press release.

"Revolut 10 is our biggest step forward to helping our customers make Revolut their primary [card] account," said Ivan Chalov, Revolut's head of retail, in an email. "We built Revolut 10 to help customers get a clear view of all of their [card] accounts and money in one place and easily navigate through favorite features and products. Built for ease, we hope the updated, clearer design helps Revolut customers explore existing features and products they may not have known were at their fingertips."

While Revolut is looking to generate excitement and attention around its app redesign, the company has suffered a variety of setbacks in both the U.S. and abroad.

Last year, the company suffered a data breach in which hackers accessed the personal data of 50,000 Revolut customers. The company has also reportedly allowed money to be released from accounts flagged as suspicious by the U.K. government, discovered a bug that allowed criminals to steal more than $20 million and has been plagued by staffing issues.

These setbacks have gotten in the way of the company securing banking licenses in the U.K. and the U.S. The company applied for one in the U.K. in 2021 but still does not have it amid perpetual scrutiny by U.K. regulators. The same year, Revolut announced its intention to secure a U.S. banking license but has yet to do so. Reportedly, the company has not submitted a final application.