(Bloomberg) — Revolut Ltd., Europe's most valuable fintech, is spinning off its $US8.5 billion ($9.5 billion) wealth management offering into a standalone app, looking to compete against the likes of Robinhood and eToro for a larger retail share. investor market.
The app, called Revolut Invest, will offer around 5,000 assets at its debut, including US and European stocks, exchange-traded funds, commodities and bonds, as well as new products such as contracts for difference. Equity and bond investments will face a flat fee of 0.25% or €1, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday, while fees for CFDs may vary.
Currently undergoing testing in Greece, Denmark and the Czech Republic, the application will be introduced in other countries of the European Economic Area by the end of the year. Rolandas JuteikaRevolut's head of wealth and commerce for the region said in an interview. The plan is to double the number of assets available for trading in the same time period, he added.
The latest move by the London-based fintech is part of group chief executive Nik Storonsky's ambition to build what he calls a “truly global bank” that offers access to all financial services and can rival the giants of industry like JPMorgan Chase & Co. Barclays Plc.
With the new trading platform, Revolut is looking to catch a wave of retail investors returning to the markets as central banks around the world begin to cut interest rates. It is also entering an increasingly crowded space, where companies such as Robinhood Markets Inc., eToro Group Ltd., Trading 212 Group Ltd. and Freetrade Ltd. have already made their mark and newcomers are facing challenges. But Revolut's size could help it gain ground.
Founded in 2015, Revolut was recently evaluated to $45 billion in an investment round that included a secondary share sale, more than double Robinhood's $20 billion market capitalization. The UK fintech also has plans for an initial public offering.
Active traders
The company already allows trading for retail investors on its main banking app. But with the standalone app, Revolut will be able to target new customers who aren't already using its banking services – opening it up to a much wider group of retail investors. It will also include access to a premium subscription level called Trading Pro, offering reduced commission fees, increased limits and analytics.
About 5% of Revolut's users are considered active, making more than one trade a week, while about 20,000 customers have signed up for Trading Pro, Juteika said.
Those who sign up for Revolut Invest will undergo the same onboarding process as Revolut banking customers, Juteika said, meaning they can choose to use the bank's full services if they download the main banking app at a later date. . Banking customers will also be able to make investments from the main app.
“In terms of user experience, those active traders will still try out all the platforms they want to trade on and see which ones they like better than others,” Juteika said.
Revolut had about 45 million customers at the end of June, according to its most recent annual report, of which more than 3 million users already use its investment services. Assets under management in its wealth offering have almost tripled to 8.5 billion euros, from 3 billion euros at the end of 2023, Juteika said.
The bank will expand the Invest app to other jurisdictions over time, having already secured the relevant licensing to do so in the UK, US, Singapore and Australia. Revolut's recent success in securing a full banking license in the UK is one of the reasons the Invest app is not available there, Juteika said, as it is currently undergoing a so-called mobilization period.
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