Revolut ‘vending machines’ set to come to UK after European rollout – UKTN

Revolut’s new network of vending machines could soon make their way to the UK after a successful European rollout.

The machines, which offer free debit cards to prospective customers, have already been installed across a host of European airports including in Milan, Rome, Porto, Brussels and Helsinki. Revolut, which gained a provisional UK banking licence in the summer, now hopes to roll out the machines in the UK as soon as 2025, UKTN understands.

Britain’s biggest fintech sees the machines as a means to rapidly expand its customer base for a bank which does not otherwise have a physical retail presence. Revolut says it has already handed out more than 100,000 cards via the machines in Rome alone.

Antoine Le Nel, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at Revolut, said: “As our ambition is to become the first global bank, airports are the natural place to advertise our product.

“They represent premium locations, in line with the positioning we want to have with our brand. We also believe that facilitating simple, frictionless payments for global citizens, when they need it most, is a revolutionary activity.”

That strategy appears to be working. This week, Revolut announced it had reached more than 50 million customers, a major milestone which places the bank in contention to becoming the biggest in Europe. Around two-thirds of those customers are based in the EU and more than one-fifth are in the UK.

The fast-growing fintech plans to celebrate the milestone in style, having organised a music concert by chart-topping artist Charli XCX. 

Revolut is looking to take on more than just the traditional high street banks for new customers. The firm now hopes to peel customers away from blue-chip investment and saving services such as Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell.

The Canary Wharf-based business this week announced it has been granted a UK trading licence by the FCA, paving the way for new trading products and features for UK customers, including introducing UK and EU stocks and ETFs.

Yana Shkrebenkova, Head of Wealth and Trading UK at Revolut, said; “We know that there is so much more our Revolut Trading customers want from our platform and we are working hard to deliver on this, rolling out new features safely and considerately.

“Revolut exists to help people get more out of their money, and today’s announcement is another step in our journey of delivering that.”

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