Digital bank Revolut has started offering unsecured personal loans in Britain, stepping into a market long dominated by the country's biggest high street lenders. The launch was confirmed to Reuters by Francesca Carlesi, the chief executive of Revolut's UK business, on Monday 26 October.

The move takes Revolut beyond payments and subscriptions into consumer lending, a riskier line of business where income depends on pricing credit carefully and managing defaults. It will compete directly with NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays, Santander's UK arm and HSBC.

A cautious start, with a credit card to follow

Carlesi said the bank will begin cautiously, offering loans to a selected group of customers at first, and that a credit card product will follow in the near future. The aim, she said, is to become the primary bank of choice for customers in the UK, deepening a relationship that for many users still centres on everyday spending.

Founded in London in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut now serves more than 80 million customers worldwide and carries a private valuation of $115 billion, larger than listed rivals such as Barclays and NatWest. Yet its revenue per customer still lags traditional banks, and the lending push is central to closing that gap. In 2025 Lithuania's central bank fined the group €3.5 million over transaction-monitoring shortcomings, a reminder of the scrutiny that comes with scale.