Financial technology company Revolut announced on Wednesday that it has launched a bank in the UK after receiving regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the banking and financial services regulator.
Revolut Bank UK will begin offering savings accounts for individuals and businesses with eligible deposits of up to £120,000 ($160,958) protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), according to the company’s announcement.
FSCS provides a safety net for customer deposits at banks and other financial institutions, such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance for US bank deposits up to $250,000.
According to the company, existing Revolut UK customers will be gradually transferred to the new account type, and the process is expected to take several months.
The company said the new bank would lay the foundation for offering a “wider range” of services, including lending.
Revolut also applied for a full banking license in Peru and a federal banking charter in the United States in January, as crypto and financial technology companies become banks, blurring the lines between digital and traditional finance.
related to: Revolut is making a second attempt at a US bank charter and appointing a new US business director
The crypto industry has its eyes on the banks, but the banking industry is backing down
Companies in the crypto industry are increasingly seeking national bank charters in the US and other regulatory filings that would tie crypto directly into the traditional financial system.
These companies include blockchain developer Ripple, institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure provider Paxos, and stablecoin issuer Circle.
In March, crypto exchange Kraken was granted a limited master account at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, giving the company direct but limited access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system.
Kraken’s limited master account approval was a historic first for the cryptocurrency industry.
However, a trade organization representing the banking sector in the US is reportedly considering filing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to block crypto companies from obtaining bank charters.
The banking lobby has repeatedly pushed back against lucrative stablecoins and cryptocurrency companies that offer banking services, fearing that blockchain-based financial services will erode the market share of traditional banks.
Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow the banks, now it is becoming them in the stablecoin fight
