Revolut received preliminary conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter on Thursday, 3 September, clearing the first of three federal hurdles standing between the British fintech and a fully operational American bank. The regulator approved the application to charter an entity to be known as Revolut Bank US, N.A., which the company said it intends to launch in the first half of 2027. The approval confers no authority to accept deposits or commence banking business. Revolut must still obtain deposit insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, secure Federal Reserve approval, and return to the OCC for final sign-off before the institution can open.
The decision follows an application Revolut filed with the OCC in March, and the company said the agency moved through the file faster than the timelines typically associated with de novo national bank charters. Revolut currently serves US customers through a partner-bank arrangement, with banking services provided by Lead Bank, a structure a charter would allow it to replace with direct federal regulation. The London-based group, which reports more than 80 million customers globally, previously withdrew from a state charter route in California before pursuing the national charter. Cetin Duransoy, Revolut's chief executive in the United States, told Reuters the company now expects clearance from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve for the banking operations. Duransoy is set to lead the proposed US entity.
CONDITIONS ATTACHED TO THE APPROVAL
The OCC's conditional approval letter set capital requirements above the standard threshold for new national banks. Revolut's US entity must pay in no less than $95 million after deducting all organisational and pre-opening expenses. The bank must also maintain a tier 1 leverage ratio of no less than 10% throughout its first three years of operation, double the 5% level generally applied to established institutions. Additional conditions require the entity to apply for stock in a Federal Reserve Bank and to obtain deposit insurance from the FDIC.
The approval also carved out parts of Revolut's proposed business. The OCC stated that the preliminary conditional approval does not include the proposed retail foreign exchange business, and that Revolut must submit the required information for the agency's supervisory non-objection before commencing that activity. Reporting on the decision indicated that several further product lines, including leveraged currency trading, foreign exchange forwards, merchant acquiring and correspondent banking, remain subject to supervisory non-objection before they can be activated. Revolut did not disclose the specific conditions in its own announcement, nor a timeline for the FDIC or Federal Reserve decisions.
WHAT A FULL CHARTER WOULD UNLOCK
Once fully licensed, Revolut Bank US would be able to offer American customers consumer loans, credit cards and FDIC-insured deposits directly, alongside access to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. A completed charter would give the bank direct access to Federal Reserve payment systems, including Fedwire and ACH, and allow it to accept customer deposits insured up to $250,000 per account. Founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky described the conditional approval in a prepared statement as "an important first step towards establishing the proposed Revolut Bank US," adding that it gives the company "the foundation to build in the world's largest financial market."
The remaining approval sequence will determine how quickly the preliminary charter converts into a working bank. The FDIC must assess the deposit insurance application while the Federal Reserve evaluates capital, governance, risk management and operational readiness for entry into the US banking system. Revolut has said the process is expected to take more than a year. Conditional approval does not guarantee the remaining federal endorsements or the targeted 2027 opening, leaving execution against the capital and leverage conditions as the principal test ahead.