Revolut remains interested in entering Ukrainian market
Neobank Revolut, which officially announced its launch in Ukraine in February 2025 and then, following a statement from the National Bank of Ukraine, warned of the need to close Ukrainian client accounts by February 22, 2026, has confirmed its interest in entering the Ukrainian market.
As Wiktor Stopa, Head of Growth for Revolut in Western and Eastern Europe, told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the FIBE-2026 conference in Berlin, there is no conflict with the National Bank; entering each market has its own specifics, which a Revolut representative shared at the conference.
He did not provide an estimated date for when Revolut would again offer its products to customers within Ukraine.
"I think there's a constant push-and-pull approach where you test a certain part of a product in the market, see how it's being adopted, see what can be optimized, and then push harder or decide to withdraw for a while and then recover," Stopa said in a discussion on the FIBE 2026 stage.
He noted that it is more difficult for neobanks to enter national markets than for e-commerce companies because this activity has a much higher regulatory threshold.
"I believe localization is always a challenge: different markets have different needs, different regulatory requirements, different tax reporting procedures, and different steps," Stopa noted.
He emphasized that from the very beginning, Revolut, which is already present in 40 countries, aimed to become a global company and unite global currencies, which led to the creation of a global bank. This is why global expansion has become one of the key pillars of our strategy. However, over time, to expand its operations, it is beginning to localize in selected, particularly attractive markets.
So, about a week ago, Stopa announced on LinkedIn that Paris would become Revolut's new headquarters in Western Europe, as its more than 25 million customers in the region, EUR 1 billion in investments, and a pending French banking license create all the necessary conditions for the next stage of growth.
According to him, Revolut has also recently gained momentum in Germany, and in some countries, it is moving towards partnerships with local players as part of its localization efforts.
"There's a second phase that we're already entering in some markets, where we need to go deeper, because we've essentially only scratched the surface—we've covered all those who just want a simple, standard account that can handle everyday payments," Stopa explained.
He cited collaboration with pagoPA in Italy and Bizum in Poland as examples, although this somewhat contradicts Revolut's aspirations – to have significant control and create products primarily on its own.
"We need to get closer to understanding what they want from us in the next phase after most clients have truly become accustomed to our products. This changes many of our investment strategies in terms of what we tell people, but it also slightly changes how we prioritize the market in our product programs," noted the head of development.
Revolut was founded in the UK in 2015 and is headquartered in London. In 2025, the neobank increased its revenue by 46% to EUR 5.3 billion, profit before tax by 57% to EUR 2 billion, and the number of customers by 30% to 68.3 million, with the goal of reaching 100 million.
In Ukraine, the company has a 100% subsidiary for software development, Revolut Technologies Ukraine (Kyiv).
As reported, Revolut officially entered the Ukrainian market on February 11, 2025, following a six-month beta test, based on a license issued by the European Central Bank to Revolut Bank UAB (Lithuania). Two weeks later, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) noted the need for the fintech to obtain a license to operate in Ukraine, which Revolut planned to obtain later.
In April 2025, NBU Deputy Governor Dmytro Oliynyk stated that the National Bank was interested in neobank Revolut entering the Ukrainian market, but within the legal and regulatory framework, and was therefore in discussions with the bank about obtaining a banking license. In an interview with NV Business, he stated that, according to the regulator's estimates, Ukrainians have opened approximately 100,000 accounts with Revolut.
Monobank, the largest Ukrainian neobank and the second largest in terms of retail card clients in Ukraine, opposed Revolut's entry into the Ukrainian market without a license.
