[Digital Today reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Crypto-friendly British fintech unicorn Revolut has dropped plans to acquire a U.S. bank and will instead apply directly for a banking licence through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Cointelegraph reported on Thursday, citing the Financial Times (FT).

Revolut announced in September 2025 a strategy to buy a U.S. bank to accelerate global expansion, but shifted to pursuing its own licence. If Revolut secures a U.S. banking licence, it would be an important example of a fintech company evolving into a bank, Cointelegraph reported.

In November 2025, Revolut was valued at $75 billion through a share sale, establishing itself as one of the world’s most valuable fintech companies. Revolut U.S. CEO Sid Jajodia said last year, "Our goal is to become a bank in the United States, and we want to obtain a licence as soon as possible and expand in the market."

According to people familiar with the matter, Revolut judged that applying for a licence directly would be faster than acquiring a U.S. bank. They added that the obligation to operate physical branches if it acquired a regional bank also weighed on the decision.

Revolut previously received a restricted banking licence from Britain’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in 2024. It recently obtained banking licences in Colombia and Mexico, and in October 2025 secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, continuing its global expansion.