Barcelona, Spain, June 4, 2025 (Lusa) - Revolut will launch its Portuguese branch this summer and aims to establish itself as the "main bank" for domestic customers, Ignacio Zunzunegui, Director of Growth for Southern Europe, told Lusa.
"Over the summer, we will launch our banking licence and, after that, we also intend to launch integration with the Multibanco network and, throughout 2026, other more traditional products that customers expect from a bank, with the aim of becoming [customers'] main bank," Ignacio Zunzunegui said on Tuesday in Barcelona.
Revolut, an online bank (“fintech”), announced on 19 May that it will set up headquarters in France for the Western European markets, and it will be this headquarters that will house the bank's future branch in Portugal.
Revolut's Portuguese branch has been announced since March last year, and the delay concerning the initial intention was not due to the Portuguese regulatory authorities, with whom the bank has "a very good relationship and collaboration", but "a matter of internal priorities", according to Ignacio Zunzunegui.
"We are in more than 39 countries and we want to launch a banking licence in all major markets, and that means moving or delaying [launches] in some countries, taking into account various needs," he said.
In addition to the banking licence in Portugal, which will allow the bank's customers to have a Portuguese IBAN, Revolut intends to "have a more local product", adapted to the national consumer, namely integration into the Multibanco and MBWay networks.
"And then we will work to launch more conventional products in a bank," said Ignacio Zunzunegui, who mentioned more credit products or new savings products.
Revolut currently has over 1.5 million customers in Portugal and aims to reach 2 million by the end of this year.
It also wants the domestic market to become the one with the highest penetration of accounts with direct deposit of salaries, once two "very big barriers" have been overcome with the launch of the branch: non-integration into the Multibanco network and the lack of a local IBAN.
"We believe that by overcoming these barriers, we have many arguments in favour of becoming the main account for customers. For me, Portugal is, along with Ireland and one or two other countries, the country with the greatest potential to demonstrate that Revolut can be one of the top three financial institutions in the market," said Ignacio Zunzunegui, who was speaking in terms of customer numbers and a timeframe of three to four years.
"But we will also be working towards this in terms of deposits," he added.
Revolut did not disclose estimated investment figures for Portugal, nor forecasts for new jobs in the country.
The bank, which describes itself as a "financial superapp", has over 55 million customers and more than 10,000 employees worldwide.
Revolut currently operates in Portugal through its Lithuanian branch, under the freedom to provide services regime.
As Revolut explained on 19 May, the Portuguese branch will initially be dependent on Revolut Bank UAB (Revolut's bank in Lithuania); however, the aim is for it to become dependent on a French bank once it is operational.
In addition to Portugal, the markets in Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Germany will also be dependent on the French bank.
The Lithuanian deposit guarantee fund currently covers deposits held by customers residing in Portugal with Revolut, and this will continue to be the case when Revolut opens its branch in Portugal, an official source at the financial institution told Lusa in May.
MP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
