By Tommy Reggiori Wilkes
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Revolut said on Tuesday it was exploring buying a U.S. bank to accelerate its global expansion and was eyeing launching credit cards in its home market, as the digital finance firm seeks to encroach further onto the turf of traditional lenders.
The London-based company has emerged as the most valuable of a crop of European financial technology firms and is seeking a $75 billion valuation in a secondary share sale. It has 65 million customers, topping
HSBC, although it has a tiny fraction of HSBC's revenue due to a focus on consumers.
Unveiling the group's new headquarters in London's Canary Wharf financial district on Tuesday, executives said the company planned to significantly expand its international footprint but was committed to Britain.
"We are committed to the UK as our home country," said Nik Storonsky, Revolut's CEO and co-founder.
Revolut is looking at whether to acquire a U.S. bank or to apply for its own banking licence in the country, Revolut's U.S. CEO Sid Jajodia told Reuters, confirming earlier media reports on its U.S. ambitions.
Other Revolut executives said they hoped to obtain a UK banking licence by the end of this year - a process that has been running for several years - that would enable it to launch credit cards and unsecured credit in the country.
Revolut said it would ultimately invest $13 billion over the next five years in its global expansion, including $4 billion in Britain. The ambition compares to Revolut's total global revenues in 2024 of 3.1 billion pounds ($4.2 billion).
($1 = 0.7393 pounds)
(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes. Editing by Iain Withers and Mark Potter)
