Revolut Rolls Out Personal Loans for UK Customers to Lift Income

Fintech giant Revolut Ltd. has kicked off its first credit product as a licensed bank in the UK as it pushes to take on incumbent lenders in Britain and boost interest income.

The London-headquartered challenger bank is rolling out unsecured personal loans between £2,000 ($2,670) and £25,000 with annual rates ranging from 6.9% to 29.3%, which are repayable over one to five years. The move is intended to shift Revolut from an everyday spending app to a full-service bank.

“We’ve built a transparent and simple loan process with near-instant funds on approval, no fee for early repayment and competitive rates,” Francesca Carlesi, CEO of Revolut UK, said in a statement.

Revolut, which has roughly 14 million customers in the UK, secured a British banking license in March. Since then, the fintech has been focused on lending, which would boost interest income. In other markets, Revolut offers a mix of personal loans, mortgages and credit cards. The firm’s interest income accounted for about 22% of revenue globally last year, with most of the rest coming from fees — atypical for large banks.

In June, Carlesi said Revolut was planning to launch five credit cards in Britain “soon.” Revolut’s personal loans will be rolled out in phases over several months and are currently available to a small number of customers.