Revolut, the London-based fintech unicorn, shared a few items on the company’s 2025 roadmap at a corporate event in London on Friday. One of its main focuses for next year will be the introduction of an AI-enabled assistant to help its 50 million customers navigate the financial app, manage their money, and customize the software.
Given that artificial intelligence is on everyone’s mind, the move isn’t surprising. But the AI assistant could definitely help differentiate Revolut from traditional banking services which are slower to adopt new technologies.
When Revolut launched its app nearly 10 years ago, many people discovered the concept of debit cards with real-time payment notifications. Users could also freeze the card from the app.
Many banks now let you control your card from your phone. But they are unlikely to offer AI features that are actually helpful yet.
In addition to the AI assistant, Revolut said they will roll out branded ATMs. These will dispense cash (of course), but also cards — a move that could foster new signups.
In the future, Revolut said it plans to add facial recognition features to its ATMs, which could help you authenticate without the usual card and PIN code protocol. It will be interesting to see how it implements the tech in a way that stays on the right side of European Union data protection rules which require explicit consent for use of biometrics for ID.
Revolut ATMs will start appearing in Spain in early 2025, per the company.
Revolut has had a banking license in Europe for a while, meaning that it can offer credit products to its retail customers. In some countries, it already offers credit cards and personal loans.
Now the company plans to expand to mortgages — one of the most popular credit products in Europe — with a focus on speed. If it’s a simple application, customers should expect instant approval in principle and a final offer in one business day. However mortgages are rarely straightforward, so it’s also going to be interesting to see whether Revolut is overpromising here.
Mortgages sounds like it will be a slow rollout. Revolut said it is starting in Lithuania, with Ireland and France slated to follow suit. Though all these launches are planned for 2025.
Finally, Revolut is going to ramp up its business offering in Europe with its first credit products and savings accounts. On the payment front, it will let business customers offer ‘buy now, pay later’ payment options.
For restaurants and stores specifically, Revolut will introduce Revolut Kiosks with biometric payments.
If all these features sound overwhelming it’s because Revolut has consistently fired on all cylinders on the product dev front, rapidly introducing new features. And 2025 looks no different.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch
Ten years after pitching on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in London, fintech N26 has reported its first ever quarterly (pre-tax) profit. The challenger bank with millions of customers across Europe generated a net operating income of €2.8 million during the third quarter of 2024 (or $2.9 million at current exchange rates).
This is an important milestone for the startup but also significant news for the fintech industry. Challenger banks like Monzo, N26, Revolut and Starling used to be some of the most hyped startups in Europe. They raised billions in funding, expanded aggressively, and overspent to reach that next funding round.
Now, it’s time to sit down and do the math. Large funding rounds are harder to obtain and investors now often require a clear path to profitability.
Revolut is extremely profitable — $428 million in net profits for 2023 alone — while Monzo just crossed the line with a pre-tax profit of £15.4 million for 2023 ($19.4 million). N26 is following suit.
For several years, Germany’s financial regulator BaFin imposed a cap on new signups as a sanction to force the startup to improve its anti-money laundering processes. But it lifted the cap earlier this year and that has had a significant impact on the company’s bottom line.
According to N26, more than 200,000 people currently open an account with it every month. Interestingly, N26 stopped sharing the total number of users it has. Instead, the company focuses on its 4.8 million “revenue-relevant” customers.
The influx of new users has led to a 40% revenue increase for the fintech in 2024 compared to 2023. And N26 is on track to generate €440 million in annual revenue this year.
As a reminder, in addition to free accounts, N26 offers paid subscriptions with access to more financial services and features. The company also offers savings accounts, stock, and crypto trading as well as credit products.
Now, let’s see if N26 manages to stay in the black as 50% of its 2024 revenue comes from interest revenues from customer deposits and the company’s retail lending activities. With interest rates going down in Europe, that source of revenue will also be more difficult to maintain at a high level.
Keep reading the article on Tech Crunch