Revolut receives conditional approval to operate as US national bank

Revolut just got a lot closer to being a real bank in America. The OCC granted the London-based fintech conditional approval to establish a national bank charter under the name Revolut Bank US, N.A., a milestone that redraws the company’s relationship with the US financial system.

For context: Revolut currently serves roughly 1 million US customers through a partnership with Lead Bank.

What the approval actually means

A national bank charter from the OCC lets Revolut operate across all 50 states under a single federal framework, rather than navigating a patchwork of state-by-state money transmission licenses.

The charter would give Revolut direct access to Federal Reserve payment infrastructure, specifically Fedwire and ACH. Right now, every time a Revolut customer in the US moves money, that transaction flows through a partner bank’s pipes.

Revolut filed its charter application in March 2026. The OCC granted conditional approval roughly six months later, around September 2-3, 2026.

Revolut still needs to secure FDIC deposit insurance and obtain approval from the Federal Reserve before it can launch. The company is targeting the first half of 2027 for its US bank debut.

The numbers behind the push

Revolut plans to capitalize Revolut Bank US, N.A. with approximately $95 million. Revolut has already invested close to $500 million in its US expansion overall.

The bank will be headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and is expected to employ about 160 staff at launch. Revolut’s global footprint is considerably larger, with over 80 million customers worldwide and a most recent valuation of $75 billion.

CEO Nik Storonsky has framed the charter approval as the foundation for delivering what he calls the “full Revolut experience” to American users.

The planned US product lineup includes checking accounts, debit cards, installment loans, and foreign exchange services. Stablecoin-related offerings are also on the table, though those would require separate regulatory approvals before going live.

A long road and a changing landscape

SoFi obtained a national bank charter in 2022, which allowed it to hold deposits directly and fund its own loans, meaningfully improving its unit economics.

The remaining regulatory steps, FDIC insurance and Federal Reserve approval, are not formalities. But clearing the OCC hurdle is widely regarded as the hardest part of the process, and Revolut has now cleared it.

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