Abstract

The case “Revolut: Britain’s First Digital-only Bank Unicorn” talks about the factors that led to United Kingdom (UK) -based Financial Technology (FinTech) company, Revolut Ltd. (Revolut) emerging as a startup unicorn. The case starts with a brief history of Revolut. It then describes the company’s journey from an e-money services provider to a billion dollar digital-only bank unicorn. The case covers the innovative products and services launched by Revolut which helped it to connect with millennials better than traditional banks. It also touches upon Revolut acquiring the European banking license which could prove to be a game-changer for it. The case also highlights the competition faced by Revolut from FinTech companies such as TransferWise Ltd. (TransferWise) and Monzo Bank Ltd. (Monzo) and how it was placed vis-à-vis the competition. The case ends with the future plans of Revolut which include launching new products and expanding geographically.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the traditional vertical industry structure is getting disrupted by digital companies.
• Analyze the business plan used by a FinTech startup to become a Unicorn.
• Identify the strategies used by a FinTech company to achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors.
• Analyze the role played by technology in enabling a FinTech company to offer unique products and services.
• Examine the challenges faced by a startup as it tries to grow and expand its business beyond the home country.

Keywords

Digital Banking; Mobile Banking; FinTech; Unicorn; Revolut; TransferWise; E-Money; Mobile Money App; Mobile Insurance; Cryptocurrency; App-based Banking; API; Monzo; N26; European Banking Industry