Revolut offers UK and EU stock dealing for 2025

Revolut Ltd, among Europe's largest UK fintech companies, has been granted a trading licence by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial regulator. From 2025, investing in the UK and European stock markets will also be allowed.

This enables Revolut to act directly as an online broker with the ability to expand its banking and investment services offering further, being able to compete directly with the UK's largest trading platforms.

With the approval of the Financial Conduct Authority, Revolut aims to gain new clients by entering the UK's rather crowded online trading sector, with competitors such as brokers like Trading 212 and Freetrade Ltd, which offer innovative investment solutions, as well as incumbent brokers like Hargreaves Lansdown and Aj Bell Plc.

The prospects for Revolut look promising, especially thanks to the UK government, which is keen to encourage the opening up of new financial services. In July, it pushed the FCA to revise certain listing rules, thus making the UK markets more attractive and accessible to those wishing to invest.

Before applying for the licence, Revolut worked over the past few years to create a secure banking and financial app, developing reliable technology that was necessary to obtain approval from the UK regulators.

A goal that has been achieved.

From 2025, shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the major European stock exchanges will be added to the assets already available in the investment section.

At the time of writing, Revolut clients in the UK can invest in about 1,900 US stocks: with the opening to the UK and European markets, the number will expand considerably. The aim is to offer innovative financial services and thus reach new clients.

To date, around 650,000 UK users already use the investment platform to purchase US shares, a limited portion if we consider the 10 million UK users who currently use Revolut's banking services.

Expanding the trading offer is the means by which Revolut's governance wants to push more UK users to also use financial services.

Since its inception, the British fintech has offered attractive solutions to attract users, combining an affordable sterling account with access to debit cards and tools designed to help individuals and businesses manage their money freely and, above all, safely.

Just think that after the Bank of Lithuania's authorisation obtained in 2018, in July 2024, Revolut also added a banking licence in the UK, thanks to the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) authorisation, at the end of a waiting period of more than three years.

In September 2023, Revolut's first step was the launch of its investment app in Europe, offering US stock trading in Italy, Germany and Belgium, to become one of the best trading platforms to start investing in stocks, on par with brokers such as eToro, XTB and Plus500.

In addition, through partnerships with other online brokers and several mergers and acquisitions, the company is also expanding into the crypto trading sector. In the coming months, it will be possible to buy and sell more than 200 tokens, as well as offer more ETFs and also the bond segment among its financial instruments. Finally, as reported by Francesca Carlesi, chief of Revolut UK, a forthcoming stock market listing of the company is being considered.

The fintech Revolut was founded in 2015 in London from the idea of Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, with the aim of creating a financial app that was accessible to everyone and simplified everyday banking.

A combination that has made it one of the most widely used payment apps in Europe. In 2018, it obtained a banking licence in Lithuania, followed in July 2024 by one in the UK, with the ability to offer banking services in Europe and the UK.

Today, Revolut is present in more than 30 countries, with 30 million users using it daily, a valuation of €45 billion, making it one of the largest online banks in Europe.

Disclaimer: Investing involves risk.