Challenger bank Revolut is preparing to submit a banking licence application to the Bank of England.
The neobank, which raised a $500m round a few weeks ago and nabbed a $5.5bn valuation in the process, said it was necessary to apply for a UK banking licence because of the country’s departure from the EU.
Brexit could, for instance, mean that British FinTech companies like Revolut are at risk of losing their passporting rights. Passporting rights are the rights of any company deemed fit to operate in a EU member state to set up shop in all EU countries without having to cut through all the red tape.
As RegTech Analyst has previously reported, EU politicians have said that it might remove British financial firms’ access to the European market unless the UK agrees with its demands in the Brexit negotiations.
Revolut has previously prepared for Brexit by shifting its regulatory responsibilities to Lithuania and Ireland.
Rival Starling Bank has already made its plans to open an office in Ireland public.
Elsewhere, German challenger bank N26 has blamed Brexit for its decision to close all of its UK accounts in April. When it made the announcement, it said that the UK exodus from the EU had made the regulatory situation too complicated.
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