Banco Revolut arrives in Portugal with guarantee of deposits and, soon, consumer credit – Observer
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The more than 500 thousand users of application financial revolution in Portugal, as of this Thursday, they will have the opportunity to join (free of charge) the Revolution Bank, which means that they will be able to have deposits with guarantee funds and, soon, credit products. In an interview with the Observer, the CEO of Banco Revolut, Joe Heneghan, says that a survey carried out among Portuguese users revealed that more than half (56%) admit that they will receive their salary in their Revolut account – “we have the ambition of being one of the main banks in all the markets we enter and Portugal is not exception”.
The launch in Portugal takes place on the same day that Banco Revolut also arrives at Italy and France. Thus, there are 18 European countries where customers of fintech British founded by Nik Storonsky, one of the most valuable in the world, can make the “leap” of users of a application financial support for a bank’s customers. “This improvement has no cost to users.“, says Joe Heneghan, in an e-mail interview, creating that” entering Banco Revolut and starting to have a deposit account with guarantee is something that can be done in just a few minutes, within the application“.
What has happened so far – and which will continue with those who decide not to join – is that Portuguese members are, in fact, customers of a financial institution with e-money license in Lithuania, a UAB Revolut Payments. The funds that are backed by customers there are, in turn, deposited by Revolut in various “first quality banks” in the euro zone. In addition, all card transactions have the security of being processed by the MasterCard, Visa and Maestro networks, formerly Revolut.
Now, whoever joins Revolut Bank at a first stage may not feel many differences in the service “on the surface”, but, in the end, will become a direct customer of the bank that the fintech launched last year in Lithuania, the country that the British company has used as a base for its expansion in Europe (especially after the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the Brexit) By becoming a bank customer, customers now have deposit guarantees under the terms that all European countries must ensure, that is, deposits up to 100,000 euros guaranteed by the respective State (Lithuania).
Joe Heneghan, CEO of Revolut Bank, tells the Observer that this offer of financial services to Portuguese customers involved a “dialogue with Banco de Portugal“, which was marked by a”very positive and constructive interaction”With the Portuguese supervisor. “Portugal has been a country that offers a very positive environment for fintech”, says the person in charge, referring to the beginners technologies that are entering the financial services sector and biting the heels of traditional banks.
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This “welcome posture that exists in Portugal” in relation to fintech, believes that Joe Heneghan, exists “maybe because [as autoridades portuguesas] they listen to their citizens and value the things they enthusiastically adhere to”.
“we are the fintech Number 1 in Portugal. We entered this market in 2015 and today we have more than 500 thousand customers”, says Joe Heneghan, creating that Portugal is the eighth largest market for this fintech Despite only having a population of around 10 million people – “we have a very high penetration “in the country.
The person in charge indicated, however, that he could not share with the Observer more detailed data about Portuguese customers, for example, information about how often people use the application per week or per month, how much money (or other assets) you have in the Revolution and what percentage are paying customers under the various plans Award that Revolut makes available in addition to the free base service.
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Joe Heneghan has, however, released some “interesting trends” that illustrate how the Portuguese users “use the super app from Revolut, increasingly, to meet your daily financial needs“:
- Between January 1 and November 30, 2021, the number of Revolut card payments increased by 40% and the value increased by 48%;
- In the same period, the number of payments connected increased 45.9%, growing at a faster pace than medical payments (34%);
- Payments and transfers between users (peer to peer, or P2P) increased 33% in the number of transactions and 70% in terms of value sent;
- There was a “significant” growth in the use of vaults, that is, the “digital safes” that allow users to set aside money to save for defined purposes, such as to buy a computer. That usage “more than doubled,” says Joe Heneghan;
- “The number of cards ordered through the application of Revolut”, adds the official, stressing the bet that this fintech makes in the design and customization of the different types of cards.
The responsible also indicated that the five cities where there are more users are Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Vila Nova de Gaia and Coimbra. The predominant age group is in the 25 to 34 years old (33.9%), followed by 35 to 44 years old (22.4%). About 19% are between 18 and 24 years old and 14.3% are between 45 and 54 years old – less than 10% of Revolut users are over 55 years old.
In a banking market where it is often said that it has too many competitors and that there will eventually be mergers and acquisitions, Revolut says that what distinguishes this fintech is that “we listen to our customers and we know they want products that give full rights to their finances and free them from high costs and unfair and unpredictable commissions – that’s why there’s so much demand” for a service like Revolut’s in Portugal.
“We are building a next-generation bank at a time when customers have an expectation that financial services must be as fast, transparent and efficient as everything else they do. connected, in his day to day”, says Joe Heneghan, dependent that “there is still a lot to do to reach this point”.
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Although the favorable values by customers at Revolut Bank are now guaranteed like any other bank, the institution has no immediate plans to provide time deposits in Portugal – financial products that, due to historically low interest rates throughout the eurozone, do not have very low returns in the entire bank. “We just started offering vaults with interest capitalization in some eurozone markets, but We still don’t have a release date in Portugal.“Says the chief executive of Banco Revolut.
On the other hand, on the horizon is also the launch of “additional banking services, such as credit products“. There is still no target date or further details on exactly what will be made available but “we are already offering credit products, consumer credit and credit cards in Lithuania and Poland”, says Joe Heneghan. “As with all Revolut products, our credit offer will be simple, transparent, with no hidden costs and a few clicks away“It claims.
Where there is nothing new, added the official, is the possible entry of Revolut cards into the Multibanco network, controlled by SIBS. “There is nothing new about this,” says Joe Heneghan: “we continue to work with SIBS, Banco de Portugal and other banks in order to integrate the Multibanco network“. Revolut has been at least since 2018 trying to conclude an agreement with SIBS to access the largest network of cards and payment terminals in Portugal.
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