A Global Fintech Insider report indicates that London, UK-based neobank Revolut is actively recruiting for a CEO to lead the FinTech company’s reentry into the Canadian market approximately four years after its initial departure.
Global Fintech Insider reports that it obtained a recruitment LinkedIn message sent to multiple Canadian FinTech executives indicating that Revolut is looking for a leader in Canada interested in building something “from the ground up.”
Revolut did not return BetaKit’s request for comment.
This CEO will be tasked with “scaling the business from 0 to 1, and beyond, within Canada,” ensuring the “smooth acquisition of all required regulatory licenses in a timely manner,” and working “with internal and external stakeholders to manage expectations.”
Revolut did not return BetaKit’s request for comment by press time.
Revolut launched a limited, beta version of its offering in Canada in 2019, only to retreat in early 2021, claiming that it was not able to offer the full range of services the firm had hoped to in Canada. The company promised to return to Canada when it could.
Speaking at Collision Conference later in 2021, Revolut co-founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky told audience members that the company planned to come back to Canada in 2022. A Revolut spokesperson later tried to walk back those comments, telling BetaKit that the company “does not have any timeline for its re-entry to disclose at this time.”
At the time, Storonsky said that Revolut ultimately aimed to roll out the full version of its app in Canada, including wealth, trading, and business accounts.
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Global Fintech Insider’s report indicates that Revolut is looking to return to Canada for real this time.
This news comes shortly after Venn (formerly Vault) closed $21.5-million CAD in Series A funding to build an all-in-one financial platform for Canadian businesses. Prior to launching the Toronto-based FinTech startup, Venn co-founders Saud Aziz and Ahmed Shafik worked at Revolut, Aziz as the company’s head of strategy and operations for North America and Shafik as a product manager.
Aziz joined The BetaKit Podcast last year to discuss what he learned during his time at Revolut, including his perspective that focusing on Canada as an additional or secondary market is not a winning strategy for FinTech firms.
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Most recently valued at $45 billion in a secondary sale, Revolut is Europe’s most valuable privately held tech company. The neobank offers banking services including prepaid debit cards, currency exchanges, stock trading, peer-to-peer payments, and cryptocurrency trading.
Revolut claims to serve over 50 million individual and 500,000 business customers across more than 160 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom (UK), France, Germany, the United States (US), Japan, and Australia. In 2023, Revolut reported revenues of $2.2 billion and a profit before tax of $545 million.
Last year, Revolut obtained a UK banking licence, and Storonsky has hinted that the company may pursue a banking licence in the US, but FinTech industry sources BetaKit spoke with expressed skepticism that the firm would pursue one in Canada—something that Toronto’s Koho Financial is trying to become the first Canadian FinTech startup to do.
Feature image courtesy Revolut.