Digital bank Revolut has begun providing unsecured personal loans to customers in the United Kingdom, marking a key expansion into traditional consumer credit.
UK chief executive Francesca Carlesi confirmed the development to Reuters, positioning the company—widely regarded as Europe’s highest-valued startup—to contest a profitable lending segment long controlled by major high-street institutions.
This initiative extends Revolut beyond its established focus on payments, foreign exchange, and subscription services into higher-risk credit products.
The firm aims to compete more directly with established lenders such as NatWest, Lloyds, Barclays, Santander’s British operations, and HSBC.
Carlesi described the broader ambition as evolving from a successful everyday spending platform that has disrupted markets into the primary banking choice for people across Britain.
Part of this strategy involves lifting revenue generated per customer, an area where Revolut still trails conventional banks.
A credit card offering is also planned for the near term as part of efforts to deepen customer relationships.
The new loans range from £2,000 to £25,000 and carry interest rates between 6.9% and 29.3%, according to a company spokesperson.
Terms typically run from one to five years.
Pricing reflects risk-based assessment, so individual rates depend on the applicant’s circumstances and credit profile.
Because Revolut lacks the multi-decade histories of customer spending and repayment behaviour that traditional banks possess, it has augmented its underwriting models with data acquired from external providers.
Carlesi expressed confidence in the firm’s credit analysis capabilities.Rollout will proceed gradually.
Initially, loans are available only to a selected group of customers before wider availability to Revolut’s roughly 14 million British users over the coming months.
The company has not set a specific overall lending volume target for the UK.
Over time, it intends to transfer a substantial portion of the associated risk through securitisation, seeking to maintain a loan-to-deposit ratio near 6%—substantially below levels common among established banks.
This lending push follows Revolut’s receipt of a full UK banking licence earlier in 2026, after a multi-year regulatory process that included a restricted authorisation period.
The licence enables scaled deposit-taking with Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection and opens the door to broader credit products.
Globally, the London-based company serves more than 80 million customers and carries a private valuation reported in the region of $115 billion.
For eligible UK customers, applications can be initiated within the Revolut app by searching for “Personal Loan.”
An initial eligibility check uses a soft credit search that does not affect the applicant’s score.
Approved funds are typically paid into the Revolut account immediately after final checks and a hard credit search.
Basic eligibility includes being aged 18 or over, resident in the UK with right to remain, holding a permanent UK address and mobile number, maintaining a Revolut account for more than 30 days, earning above £12,000 annually, being employed, and having a clean credit history without county court judgments.
Loans may now be used for purposes such as vehicle purchases, home improvements, or debt consolidation but cannot fund property acquisition, business activity, gambling, or investments.
The move occurs against a backdrop of ongoing cost-of-living pressures in Britain, including a softer labor market, which can affect borrowers’ repayment capacity.
By entering unsecured consumer lending, Revolut seeks to become a more comprehensive financial partner while managing risk carefully through measured expansion and future risk-transfer mechanisms. Success will depend on effective credit assessment, competitive pricing, and customer adoption as the product becomes more widely available.
