If a time-travelling Karl Marx ever had to download a banking app, let’s face it: he would go for Revolut. And not just because of the name. In his lifetime, Marx’s financial situation was often described as “precarious.” And right now, Revolut’s Instant Saver is offering a market-leading 5%.
Revolut began in 2015 as a fix for a familiar fiscal irritant – expensive foreign exchange and card fees when travelling. Founded in London by Nik Storonsky, a former trader, and Vlad Yatsenko, a software engineer, it soon expanded into a range of financial products, including budgeting, business accounts, stock trading, crypto, and savings.
And the pace of that expansion has been truly impressive.
Revolut reported £4.5 billion of revenue and £1.7 billion of pre-tax profit for 2025, with more than 68 million retail customers and a valuation that reached $75 billion. According to the bank, more than 75 million people use their platform worldwide, and one million new customers are joining every 17 days.
As Revolut has grown, so has the scale of its ambition. Forbes comments, “they’re aiming to build the world’s first truly global bank. Its aggressive growth plans include doubling their customer base to 100 million and generating annual revenues of $100 billion.”
So, what is Storonsky and Yatsenko’s secret sauce?
Tech magazine Digital Frontier says, “key to its early expansion was targeting markets where there was no competition from other digital banks.” Which makes perfect sense – the shrewdest entrepreneurs will all tell you ‘No competition’ is the best kind of competition there is.
Digital Frontier goes on, “One example can be seen in the Republic of Ireland, where Revolut has had huge success at a time when several established banks have pulled out of the market…making headway before other challengers could get a foothold.”
As well as seizing early-mover advantage, Revolut have put a huge amount of effort into getting regulatory approval. That really matters. A national banking licences let them compete more directly with traditional banks. They can’t go global without them.
Forbes again, “The London-based fintech can afford to be ambitious after…receiving a U.K. bank license…that should pave the way for further regulatory approvals in the U.S. and other markets.”
In his famous Communist Manifesto, Marx talks of the ruling classes “trembling” at the thought of revolution. Perhaps trembling is too strong a word, but the likes of HSBC and Bank of America are already glancing nervously over their shoulders at Storonsky and Yatsenko.