Richard Davies, chief operating officer at Revolut, said his digital bankās low-cost approach would prove hardier than the incumbentsā. āItās extremely hard to pivot out of a branch and mortgage-centric model into a digital payments model ā impossible even.ā
Many of the other āneobanksā are trying to build business models less reliant on traditional lending and therefore less exposed to low interest rates. Revenues will come from recurring fees for premium services such as insurance and stock trading, or commissions for recommending products from third-party partners.
Their branchless, app-based models also help to limit costs and make it easier to expand into new markets. The model has proved popular so far, with rapid customer growth putting further pressure on incumbents and the original challenger banks.
Source - UKās bank challengers are fading in fight with big four
I saw this from Tom today, a key difference between Monzo:
The firm claims to have an average 3.7 million active users each month
While it makes for a somewhat decent take given Monzo Bank operates in 1 market, Revolut has more monthly actives than Monzo has total users, monetises its active customers far better while Monzo fumbles its paid Plus offering and Revolut expects revenues to triple again in the coming year.
Both companies are fintech pioneers.
āRevolut to seek UK banking licenceā https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nikolay-storonskys-revolut-to-seek-uk-banking-licence-xlrhjxcv0
āā¦ A UK licence would allow Revolut to hold deposits on its own balance sheet and to make direct loans, helping to boost returns.
āRevolut, launched in 2015 and now chaired by financier Martin Gilbertā¦ā
Question is ā¦ is Revolut bringing enough to the table to make FreeTraders wanna switch?
Is there a better service cheaper than āFreeā ?
That post though: We Got s UK Banking Licence
Correction: *Weāve.
They may have a banking licence but not a proof reader.
I have had revolut for quite a while, I even pay extra to have a little metal black bank card. Iām between a few different countries quite alot so itās so easy, quick and handy to have money when i need it without getting charges on my bank cards. Itās great for sending money easily and a few other functional features too. I bought stocks on it when that feature was released that were not on freetrade and being able to buy fractionals is great, but it also has a limited stock universe and as soon as freetrade launches the new stocks and fractionals I will swap everything over here. Stocks on Revolut is a handy feature for a banking app but nothing compared to freetrade. If anything it will give people an insight if they get a taste for it they will want a more complete app like freetrade.
Revolut asking whatās taking so long with their UK banking license.
I am very wary of banking with Revolut or other online only banks. Too many stories of locked accounts. My legacy bank never gives me a problem so I see no advantage to moving to Revolut.
For that reason I successfully switched from starling to Barclays.
Yes Barclays is a legacy bank and is not always at your fingertips, but at least you can visit a branch of something goes seriously wrong.
I am aware that all internet only banks can have this problem. However some seem more ānotoriousā for it than others.
At the end of the day Iāve only ever kept weekend play money on any such account and wouldnāt use Starling (now closed) or Revolut (or any of the others) for serious banking. Sorry, but heard things that make me question things.
My legacy banks moved out years ago and are essentially online unless I want a day trip 
I do appreciate where you are coming from.
The point I was trying to make is that there are reports of some of these online only banks freezing access to customers funds. This usually takes place not log after the customer uses the current account switch service or uses the online styled bank as their āmain bankā.
Yes I appreciate there is all forms of regulations and the like, ok sure but this appears to happen indefinitely. The customer loses access to all funds held in the acct indefinitely.
The only recourse seems to be to take the online bank to court (usually in the small claims court) which in most cases does appear to be successful, should the customer involved have the money/time/other resources at their disposal to make it work.
My point is even if you have to take a day trip, surely thatās better than this.
I can send you proof of this via PM on request.
Also for the record. It appears many of these online only banks appear to hide between AML regulations.
From what Iām aware once a legacy bank has spent the 8-12 weeks to investigate and verify the source of the funds, the money will be returned to you even if they choose to close the account.
When it comes to online only banks it appears they are hiding behind AML regulations as an excuse but ultimately āseizing the moneyā or attempting to.
The reason I am strongly reluctant to believe this is a genuine application of AML rules is that it seems to happen when a customer uses the online only bank as their main bank. This could be by making a large deposit of using the official current account switching service.
A few days later the account gets closed and the finds get āseizedā.
The reason Iām strongly reluctant to believe AML regulations is a genuine reason is that via a claim in the small claims court, many have and still do get their money back, but only via this means.
If it were a genuine case of either fraud, money laundering or any other financial crime, any bank would be able to seize the proceeds for good, even if a claim was put in to the small claims court.
Nice sponsorship from Revolut
The link if you want to watch the adventure of getting too Paris.
Interesting:
A customer what? 