Economy
Revolut: $115 billion fintech taking on Europe’s biggest banks
Revolut has grown into Europe’s most valuable startup, emerging as a serious competitor to centuries-old banking institutions. Since its launch just over a decade ago as a fintech focused on offering lower foreign-exchange fees, the company has expanded at remarkable speed.
Yet Revolut faces many hurdles itself, with the amount of revenue it extracts per customer a fraction of its established competitors and a small lending business by industry standards.
A spokesperson for Revolut said in an email that the London-based company has a “diversified business model,” earning its revenue from various products and services rather than lending.
“That means our growth depends on building things customers value, rather than on interest rates,” the spokesperson said.
Here’s Revolut’s rise, in five charts:
Going for global
CEO Nik Storonsky has stressed he wants Revolut to be truly global, expanding into markets from Mexico to Australia.
The company has announced several new licenses in recent weeks, as it aims to become one of only a handful of banks with retail operations spanning so much of the globe.
Meanwhile, some traditional lenders seen as global, including HSBC, are reducing their retail footprint.
Valued at $115 billion privately, Revolut is now worth more than Britain’s Barclays and France’s Societe Generale as investors bet on its tech platform winning over more customers globally.
Revolut’s 2025 pretax profit was 1.7 billion pounds ($2.2 billion), a fraction of Barclays’ 9 billion pounds, but growing fast.
Paulo Macedo, CEO of Portugal’s biggest bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, said in June that 2025 was the last year in which the 150-year-old bank would record higher profit than Revolut.
“When you go to Europe the bank CEOs there are talking about Revolut as their most important threat because of their aggressive marketing and growth,” said Cihan Duran, director at S&P Global Ratings.
Marred by setbacks
In the U.S., where Revolut has a provisional license, it will face tougher competition, investors said.
“The U.S. could be potentially the biggest growth for Revolut. But at the same time, the U.S. is the most competitive market,” said Konstantin Sidorov, CEO of the London Technology Club, which invested in Revolut when it was valued at just $5.5 billion.
There have been setbacks, including a fine in Lithuania for failing to prevent money laundering. Revolut said an investigation had not identified any confirmed instances of money laundering, adding that it had signed a settlement with the central bank and taken steps to resolve shortcomings.
And in September, Revolut accidentally sent customer data to hackers posing as government investigators. The company said its systems and customer funds were unaffected and it had contacted the “limited number of impacted individuals” to give support.
In 2024 and 2025, Revolut was the most-complained-about bank in Britain in fraud cases whereby customers are tricked into sending cash to scammers, Ombudsman data compiled by consumer advocacy firm Which? showed.
Revolut has previously said in response that it takes fraud very seriously and has robust customer protections in place.
Customers have surged
A striking measure of its growth is customer numbers.
In Ireland, for example, Revolut said that 80% of the adult population has a Revolut account.
Revolut’s website shows it has 80 million customers, against 84 million for JPMorgan and 41 million for HSBC.
Revenue-per-customer is low
Revolut makes far less from each of its customers than traditional banks, a Reuters analysis of its figures shows. Average deposit balances are also much lower.
Lower per-customer revenue is in part because Revolut lends much less than traditional banks, instead relying on fees such as card subscriptions.
With just 2.2 billion pounds in loans at end-2025, Revolut’s loan-to-deposit ratio of 6% compares with 55% for HSBC and 86% for Societe Generale.
Scaling its lending business will introduce risks, including managing big and complex credit exposures, while entering fiercely competitive local mortgage markets will not be easy, analysts and investors said.
Too few primary accounts
Revolut has attracted customers with its easy-to-use app, but executives acknowledge too few use it as a primary bank account.
Revolut declined to comment in its latest results on how many customers did so in 2025, but said the figure was up 45% from a year ago.
This metric is a focus for Revolut’s biggest backers.
Alex Immerman, an investor at Andreessen Horowitz, which is known as “a16z,” told Reuters it was watching for primary-account adoption, as well as total customer balances.
Global M&A activity slowed down in the third quarter of the year, totaling $993 billion, down 41% compared to the prior quarter, marking the first quarter below $1 trillion since the second quarter of 2025, according to LSEG data.
Banca Monte dei Paschi’s $32 billion bid for Banco BPM and Gold Fields’ $25.7 billion bid for Northern Star Resources were among the 10 deals over $10 billion announced in the third quarter, the lowest number of quarterly megadeals since the fourth quarter of 2024.
While the boom in artificial intelligence and data center building has lifted the outlook for economic growth, surging energy costs have been fanning inflation and pushing expectations that higher interest rates are coming.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 5.34% on Thursday, its highest level since 2002, after posting the biggest quarterly rise this century in the three months to September.
“At the margins (higher yields) makes valuations sometimes a little tougher,” said John Collins, global head of M&A at Morgan Stanley.
“That said, the impact is hard to quantify, so I’m not ready to call a slowdown based on what we are seeing.”
So far this year, worldwide M&A volume is up 28% to $3.9 trillion, the highest level in the period since 2001, while the number of deals fell 8%, levels not seen since 2020.
“Corporates are still looking for scale or access to markets and technologies they are not in,” said Carsten Woehrn, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of M&A in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
He sees total deal value exceeding the 2021 peak if the pace continues.
“Megadeals are continuing and we’ve seen significant activity since the summer,” Woehrn said. “Boards feel a greater urgency to pull the trigger on strategic deals.”
Historic levels of investment in the technology sector have bolstered deals, with strategic stake purchases in those companies accounting for about one quarter of global M&A so far this year.
Earlier this year, both Claude maker Anthropic and ChatGPT maker OpenAI raised tens of billions of dollars from investors.
While U.S. and European dealmaking fell sharply in the last three months, Asia Pacific M&A totalled $242 billion, up 8% from the second quarter and up 36% from the same period last year.
This has been the strongest year to date for global private equity-backed dealmaking by value since records began in 1980, but the third quarter also saw a slowdown versus the same period last year.
“We had an extraordinary Q2. Q3 is a normalization rather than an end of a cycle,” said Sarah Jones, global head of corporate at law firm Clifford Chance. “Strategics are still working to pursue their goals.”
Cross-border dealmaking remains a strong theme this year to date, up 32% on the same period last year.
“We’re seeing a fair amount of appetite from U.S. companies thinking about acquisitions in Europe for the first time, taking advantage of a strong dollar. In reverse, you’re seeing people considering investment in the U.S. to take advantage of the potentially higher growth opportunity in the country,” said Charlie Bouckaert, JPMorgan’s global head of M&A.
Trillion-dollar IPOs and dealmaking
New listings, particularly in the technology sector, have fuelled M&A, giving the companies new currency to buy up rivals.
SpaceX acquired AI coding startup Cursor just days after its blockbuster Nasdaq debut, which saw its valuation surge to more than $2 trillion.
“One of the drivers of activity is that being larger may help companies navigate transition in AI better,” Collins said.
The June IPO of Elon Musk’s SpaceX helped drive $215 billion worth of initial public offerings (IPOs), excluding SPACs, priced globally in the year to date, the highest level since 2021, from a lower number of deals than in the same period last year.
In the last three months, stock sales raised $284 billion, 26% less than the proceeds raised across equity capital markets during the second quarter, although marking a 39% increase from the third quarter of 2025, thanks to offerings from SK Hynix and Intel.
Some bankers did sound a note of caution that some investors were taking more of a pause when approaching some technology and AI-related deals.
“Until about 10 days ago, no one seemed to worry about the midterms, but with rising diesel prices and rates and a risk of a change in political direction, it is prompting caution,” said Andreas Bernstorff, global head of equity capital markets at BNP Paribas.
In recent weeks, some IPOs have been delayed as higher interest rates and setbacks in the data center ecosystem threaten to derail a slew of new issues from the sector.
But even with the uncertainty ahead, bankers remain confident.
“Strong secular trends (such as AI) are driving activity, and we expect 2027 to be another robust year,” JPMorgan’s Bouckaert said.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi Saturday urged African countries to prioritize peaceful solutions to conflicts, strengthen state institutions and respect national sovereignty, saying stability is essential for economic development.
“Economic development cannot be built in unstable countries, and stability is not a luxury but a fundamental pillar sought by investors, manufacturers and farmers so they can operate in a safe environment,” el-Sissi said in his opening speech at the Alamein Africa Forum, which began Friday in New Alamein on Egypt’s northern coast.
“Across our African continent, we fully understand that security begins with supporting the national state and its institutions, respecting its unity and sovereignty, prioritizing peaceful solutions to conflicts and crises, and upholding the principle of good neighborliness,” he added.
The three-day forum has brought together about 1,500 government officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financial institutions from across Africa, with discussions focused on economic development, investment and greater continental integration.
El-Sissi said Africa’s private sector is the main driver of the continent’s economies, contributing more than 70% of its gross domestic product.
About 85% of transactions by Africa’s private sector are conducted with companies from outside the continent, el-Sissi added.
Despite trade agreements and preferential arrangements among African countries, intra-African trade has accounted for only about 18% of the continent’s total trade in recent years, el-Sissi said.
On international developments, el-Sissi said Africa aspires to “a world characterized by peace and stability, rather than being made to bear the consequences of global crises in which it was not a party but whose negative repercussions it suffers.”
He cited the current energy crisis as an example, pointing to the impact of rising fuel and fertilizer prices and disruptions to supply and shipping chains on African countries.
Last February, the African Union summit in Addis Ababa approved plans to hold the Alamein Africa Forum every two years in New Alamein.
Egypt is organizing the forum in cooperation with the African Export-Import Bank and the African Union Development Agency.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday urged African countries to prioritize peaceful solutions to conflicts, strengthen state institutions and respect national sovereignty, saying stability is essential for economic development.
“Economic development cannot be built in unstable countries, and stability is not a luxury but a fundamental pillar sought by investors, manufacturers and farmers so they can operate in a safe environment,” Sisi said in his opening speech at the Alamein Africa Forum, which began Friday in New Alamein on Egypt’s northern coast.
“Across our African continent, we fully understand that security begins with supporting the national state and its institutions, respecting its unity and sovereignty, prioritizing peaceful solutions to conflicts and crises, and upholding the principle of good neighborliness,” he added.
The three-day forum has brought together about 1,500 government officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financial institutions from across Africa, with discussions focused on economic development, investment and greater continental integration.
Sisi said Africa’s private sector is the main driver of the continent’s economies, contributing more than 70% of its gross domestic product.
About 85% of transactions by Africa’s private sector are conducted with companies from outside the continent, Sisi added.
Despite trade agreements and preferential arrangements among African countries, intra-African trade has accounted for only about 18% of the continent’s total trade in recent years, Sisi said.
On international developments, Sisi said Africa aspires to “a world characterized by peace and stability, rather than being made to bear the consequences of global crises in which it was not a party but whose negative repercussions it suffers.”
He cited the current energy crisis as an example, pointing to the impact of rising fuel and fertilizer prices and disruptions to supply and shipping chains on African countries.
Last February, the African Union summit in Addis Ababa approved plans to hold the Alamein Africa Forum every two years in New Alamein.
Egypt is organizing the forum in cooperation with the African Export-Import Bank and the African Union Development Agency.
Teknofest Southeast continues in Şanlıurfa with aviation displays, defense technologies, educational activities and cultural events, as thousands of visitors explore the festival grounds at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport.
The five-day festival, organized with the participation of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the T3 Foundation and the Turkish Aerospace and Technology Company, is bringing together technology enthusiasts, students, researchers and families through Oct. 4.
The event features technology competitions in 14 categories, exhibitions, scientific workshops, simulation experiences and air shows, while visitors can also explore a wide range of Turkish aviation and defense platforms.
As Teknofest prepares to enter its third day, its program continues to combine large-scale aviation demonstrations with hands-on educational activities and cultural experiences reflecting the identity of Şanlıurfa.
Defense platforms take center stage
Defense and aviation remain among the main attractions at the festival, with visitors able to see a wide range of aircraft, unmanned systems and other military platforms at close range.
For the first time at the festival, a full-scale mock-up of Türkiye’s Kaan fighter jet is on display, giving visitors a closer look at the country’s fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft project.
The Kaan display is part of a large exhibition featuring Atak helicopters, Hürkuş, Cezeri, Anka, Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar TB3 and Bayraktar Akıncı, along with Turkish land and maritime vehicles.
Bayraktar Akıncı also took part in the flight demonstrations, with images captured by the unmanned combat aircraft transmitted to large screens for visitors on the ground.
The Turkish Stars, the Turkish Air Force’s aerobatic team, performed over the festival on opening day, drawing the attention of thousands of visitors who watched the aircraft soar across the sky.
The aviation program is complemented by paramotor and hang glider demonstrations, giving visitors the opportunity to watch different forms of flight alongside military aircraft.
Technology presented beyond airfield
While aircraft and air shows provide some of the festival’s most visible moments, Teknofest is also designed around education and direct interaction with technology.
Visitors can explore advanced technology simulations, scientific workshops, exhibitions, a planetarium, science shows and the Teknofest Time Tunnel. The festival also includes displays of national air, land and maritime vehicles, as well as special first flight activities for students.
On the opening day, students visited an area operated by traffic gendarmerie teams, where they received information about traffic safety equipment including road traps, radar devices and alcohol meters. They also experienced a seat belt simulation vehicle.
Agriculture and environmental education are also part of the program. Students attending activities organized at the food, agriculture and livestock technology area were introduced to beekeeping and were allowed to observe live bees while learning about bee species and beekeeping.
The festival also features activities focused on accessibility. The Türkiye Beyazay Association is presenting projects related to technologies and methods intended to make education, employment and participation in social life more accessible to people with disabilities.
For many young visitors, the experience is closely connected to their future ambitions.
Şanlıurfa’s heritage meets modern technology
The festival is also presenting Şanlıurfa’s cultural identity alongside advanced technology.
At a stand organized by Haliliye Municipality, a traditional “sıra gecesi” music group performed locally adapted songs while preparing “çiğ köfte” (steak tartar a la turca) for visitors. A four-legged robotic dog was also presented at the stand, creating a visual meeting point between one of Şanlıurfa’s best-known culinary traditions and modern robotics.
The combination of tradition and technology is seen throughout the festival area, where visitors can move between local music, food and traditional clothing and exhibitions featuring aircraft, unmanned systems and robotic technologies.
Teknofest Southeast will continue through Oct. 4 at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport with technology competitions, air shows, exhibitions, workshops, simulation experiences, stage events and celebrations of Şanlıurfa’s cultural heritage.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is planning a visit to Türkiye this month for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in what would be the first dedicated bilateral trip to the country by a Canadian leader, Reuters reported Friday, citing four sources familiar with the plans.
One source said Carney and Erdoğan could discuss free-trade talks launched on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara in July, as well as potential cooperation in energy and defense. Canadian and Turkish trade ministers agreed this week to accelerate the talks ahead of the leaders’ meeting, two sources said.
The visit would mark Carney’s latest effort to diversify Canada’s economic ties as he seeks to reduce the country’s reliance on the United States, by far its largest trading partner, following the collapse of trade talks in August.
Carney has vowed to double Canada’s non-U.S. trade over the next decade and has moved to strengthen ties with a range of countries, including China and India.
Türkiye, whose largest trading partner is the European Union, is also seeking new partnerships and investment in energy, infrastructure and mining, while expanding opportunities for its growing defense industry.
The sources did not provide dates or a detailed agenda for the visit, which is planned for later this month.
Carney’s office and Erdoğan’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
No Canadian prime minister is known to have made a standalone bilateral visit to Türkiye in recent decades, though Canadian leaders have met Erdoğan and other Turkish officials on the sidelines of multilateral gatherings, including NATO and G20 summits hosted by Türkiye.
At the NATO leaders’ summit in July, Carney and Erdoğan formally launched negotiations for a free-trade agreement.
That month, Türkiye agreed to join Canada’s Defence Security and Resilience Bank as one of 10 founding member nations of Carney’s multilateral “middle powers” bank.
The two countries’ trade ministers met in June and discussed expanding cooperation on renewable and nuclear energy, according to a Canadian government statement, which also listed aerospace, defense and security as areas for potential new partnerships.
Türkiye has held talks with Canadian engineering firm AtkinsRealis, South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation and China’s State Power Investment Corporation over potentially building its second and third nuclear power plants. Russia’s Rosatom is building the country’s first.
An executive at AtkinsRealis, which holds the exclusive license for Canadian-designed CANDU reactors, told Reuters this year that the company expects Türkiye to complete an initial review of its CANDU reactors following an information exchange, potentially paving the way for formal talks on a plant bid.
In a step that helped improve bilateral ties in 2024, Canada lifted weapons-export restrictions on Türkiye, including controls on optical technology used in drones that Türkiye exports to dozens of countries.
Bilateral trade, however, remains relatively small.
Türkiye accounted for less than 0.3% of Canada’s total merchandise trade in 2025, at C$4.34 billion ($3.05 billion), compared with C$1 trillion in trade with the U.S., according to Statistics Canada data.
Canada mainly exports lentils, aircraft and electronics to Türkiye, while importing medical devices, fishing vessels, aircraft engines and jewelry.
S&P Global Ratings does not expect the ongoing investigation and liquidation of over 100 investment funds in Türkiye to put downward pressure on the country’s sovereign credit rating, according to its analysts.
S&P is due to publish its second credit rating and outlook review for Türkiye this year on Oct. 16. In its latest assessment in April, the agency affirmed Türkiye’s rating at BB-/B and maintained its outlook as stable.
Turkish authorities have stepped in to resolve the fund turmoil that erupted last month after suspected price manipulation in a number of thinly traded stocks triggered heavy losses and redemption pressures at investment funds.
Almost half a million investors hold stakes in more than 100 investment funds with combined assets of nearly $20 billion that authorities ordered to be liquidated in mid-September.
Karen Vartapetov, S&P Global Ratings’ director and lead analyst for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), said the regulatory measures and policy response to the fund investigation had been “quick and convincing,” adding that authorities had managed to contain the issue without a broader negative impact on the financial system.
“There is not much evidence that this process has negatively affected confidence and perceptions of the Turkish economy,” Vartapetov told Anadolu Agency (AA), according to a Turkish transcript of his remarks.
From a macroeconomic perspective, there has so far been limited impact, with the issue appearing to remain largely isolated, he said.
S&P had not observed significant reactions in areas it monitors, including the exchange rate, dollarization, financial conditions and banking-sector liquidity, according to Vartapetov.
If the fund-related developments remain isolated, they would not create downward pressure on the sovereign rating, he said.
“I think the negative effects will be limited if the fund crisis remains isolated and households continue to have confidence in real-currency assets,” Vartapetov said.
He stressed that sovereign ratings are determined by a committee and that the developments involving the funds would inevitably be discussed as part of that process.
S&P would likely highlight the episode as a risk, Vartapetov said, but added that there was not yet clear evidence of significant macroeconomic consequences.
If the issue remains confined to “a narrow asset class,” it would not be a “game changer” for investor sentiment, he said.
Reserve recovery supports rating
Vartapetov also discussed S&P’s outlook for Türkiye’s growth, inflation and international reserves.
The agency expects average inflation of around 30% this year and economic growth of close to 3%, he said. Inflation lastly eased to 31.51% in August.
Reserve adequacy remains one of the most important parameters for Türkiye’s credit rating, Vartapetov said.
Türkiye entered the year with reserves at a very high level, including record gross reserves. The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) used some reserves to contain the negative impact of higher energy prices, but later replenished part of the amount, he said.
“Gross reserves are therefore somewhat below January-February levels, but the recovery in reserves is supportive of the credit rating,” Vartapetov said.
Net reserves are not as strong as gross reserves but have also recovered, he added.
Vartapetov said household behavior had been another key focus for S&P in assessing Türkiye’s credit profile in recent years.
The agency has been monitoring whether households continue to prefer the Turkish lira, lira-denominated assets and bank deposits or shift toward the dollar, which could put pressure on foreign-exchange reserves.
Despite geopolitical developments in the Middle East, high energy prices and the fund investigation, households’ stance toward the lira has remained relatively strong, Vartapetov said.
“We have not seen much evidence of dollarization picking up again. Financial-system dollarization has not increased,” he said.
Policy response seen as ‘quite strong’
Regina Argenio, director of financial institutions ratings in the region at S&P Global, said the biggest immediate impact of the fund developments had been felt in the stock market, where equity valuations declined.
“Beyond the initial correction, however, we have seen valuations stabilize,” she said. Data arrive with some delay and may not yet provide the full picture, but there had also been no major movement in bank liquidity, she added.
Argenio said it was important that the problems remained isolated to the funds concerned and described the policy response so far as “quite strong.”
Beyond judicial proceedings, authorities had provided liquidity to the market and appointed banks to handle the liquidation of the funds, she added.
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