Revolut, a UK-based fintech company that is a global financial services firm with a valuation of around $75 billion, has declared an enormous investment of $669.2 million (approximately ₹5,941 crore) in the Indian market within the next five years. It is based on this investment that a comprehensive set of payment and forex products will be rolled out, and its operations in the country will be considerably increased. 

Regulatory licensing and strategic investment

The dedicated funds will be strategically implemented in various regions, including the development of new products, incurring investments in increasing its Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and obtaining more regulatory licenses in India. The Group Chief Banking Officer of Revolut, Siddhartha Jajodia, called India a critical market and underlined the fact that the company is making a long bet on its growth and wants to become a truly global bank.

The company has already spent $45 million (₹399.5 crore) to set up its India stack, which entails a locally compliant variant of its core technology platform and application. The new $669.2 million investment will also strengthen its technology and talent investments. The rationale behind such an investment is also stipulated by the fact that global tech firms have to comply with the strict data localisation standards established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), necessitating them to invest in the local data processing facilities.

The business model Revolut is taking in India is unlike most other world businesses that are usually third-party technology service providers (TPAPs) by seeking the licensing option to create its own instruments. To date, the company has acquired two important licences, an Authorised Dealer (AD-II) forex licence and a domestic prepaid payment instrument (PPI) licence. These licenses will enable Revolut to provide national and international payments within one platform.

The firm has also implemented one app that can be used to make domestic and international payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-linked forex cards (prepaid cards) and multi-currency cards. According to Paroma Chatterjee, the CEO of Revolut India, the structure of the company is the opposite of TPAPs, who serve only as mediators with no ownership of customer relationships or funds, which is frequently potentially unsustainable in terms of the revenue model. She confirmed that Revolut works according to the ethos of being a bank by having its own licences and being answerable to the regulator.

Ambitious growth targets for India

Revolut has high expansion goals in India, with a goal of recruiting 20 million customers by 2030. Its highest talent base is at the moment India with about 3,500 employees, which translates to 35% of its global workforce. The company has an aim of reaching 100 million customers by mid-2027 and launching in more than 30 new markets by 2030, which is supported by a global investment commitment of $13 billion.

Although the central product is currently payments and foreign exchange, which make up its largest revenue generators, Revolut has long-term intentions to expand into credit and investment products. According to Chatterjee, the ultimate goal is to make everything that a bank can provide in terms of financial services products, digitally available. Jajodia subsequently said that the long-term vision is to become a controlled bank in every core market and not a third-party tube. Revolut will compete directly with market leaders such as PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, and large traditional banks in a saturated market in India that is a digital payments market. 

Conclusion

The strategic value of the Indian market to the global vision of Revolut is highlighted by its half-a-billion-dollar-plus investment. Through its licence-led strategy and the investment of heavy capital in local technology and talent, the British fintech is making a big bet on becoming a major digital banking organisation. This action is a strong indication that it is set to compete in one of the most dynamic and competitive fintech environments in the world.