Revolut abandons US merger plans to pursue own de novo banking licence: FT

London-based fintech Revolut is pivoting away from its previous plan to acquire an existing U.S. bank to gain an immediate lending footprint. Instead, the company is now preparing to apply for a de novo national banking charter in the United States, according to a Financial Times report. Revolut reversed course because an acquisition presented significant hurdles, such as potential obligations to maintain physical branches and complex change-of-ownership regulatory approvals. The company is now relying on the accelerated approval pathway offered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which has recently granted conditional licenses to several crypto-native firms. Revolut confirmed that establishing a bank in the U.S. is critical to its global growth strategy, though it continues to explore all options.

(Source：The Block)