UK currency exchange startup secures £51.3m in funding

Revolut founder and CEO Nikolay Storonsky was a trader with Credit Suisse

Travel money and consumer finance startup Revolut secured $66m (£51.3m) in funding last week, bringing total investment to $83m.

The UK-based prepaid debit card provider offers foreign currencies at the Interbank or ‘wholesale’ exchange rate - generally better than that offered by conventional bureau de change.

It said that it would use the fresh capital to expand operations.

Launched in July 2015, Revolut offers customer the opportunity to load multiple currencies onto a single debit card that they can then manage from an app. The company has been steadily adding features in an effort to outpace rivals such as Monzo.

A crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube last July was heavily oversubscribed, with over £17m pledged by more than 10,000 investors. £1m was raised through that.

This was in addition to £6.75m raised from venture capital firms including Balderton Capital and Index Ventures, according to the latter.

“We've built a really strong community but a lot of them never got the opportunity to invest” said a spokesperson for Revolut, “this is our way of strengthening our relationship and giving them another chance”.

Ribbit Capital, another venture capital firm, joined Index and Balderton for the latest Series B investment round.

Revolut has said that it aims to follow up with another round of crowdfunding, hosted by Seedrs, with a goal of $5m.

Features added over the company's two-year lifespan have included peer-to-peer loans, ISAs and business accounts.

Earlier this year came the addition of an IBAN, allowing customers to have their salary paid into their Revolut wallet just like a UK current account. While Revolut does not hold a UK banking license they are regulated by the FCA.

“We are committed to improving our user experience by adding a wealth of new products in the coming months” founder and chief executive Nikolay Storonsky. He cited integration of cryptocurrencies and pay-as-you-go travel insurance as two ambitions.

The company also hopes to use this new wave of funding to expand its customer base to Asia and North America.

“With over 700,000 customers across Europe in just two years, I’m confident that Revolut will attract similar demand across Asia and North America,” he said.