From challenger to mainstay: Revolut's licence and the closing gap in UK banking

On 11 March, Revolut was granted a full UK banking licence after a four-year process. Revolut's cofounder and chief executive, Nik Storonsky, described the decision as the culmination of "a long-term strategic priority".

In the short term, the bank has said nothing will change for customers. This raises a key question: if Revolut could already offer lending without a full UK licence, why go through the long and complex process of becoming a fully regulated bank?

In this FStech podcast senior reporter Isaac Hanson speaks with Christoph Stegmeier, a senior partner in consultancy Simon-Kucher's global banking practice, to explore what the licence can tell us about Revolut's strategic priorities, and how the bank might change as a result.