Financial technology firm Revolut has received a UK banking licence with restrictions from the sector’s regulator, it said today, making new strides towards the full authorisation it has sought for three years.

The licence brings Revolut, a global firm with more than nine million UK customers, closer to the same UK permissions as the traditional banks it seeks to compete against.

It has more than 2.7 million customers in Ireland and 45 million customers worldwide.

Revolut said in a statement it had now entered a “mobilisation” stage of its UK efforts, which will allow the firm to complete building its UK banking operations ahead of launching in the market.

The status allows new banks to invest in the final stages of their build-outs, according to the Prudential Regulation Authority’s website.

During the 12 month period, new banks need to demonstrate they will be fully operational and address additional issues identified by the regulator before they can trade fully.

It is a major victory for Revolut, one of a handful of financial services apps – commonly known as fintechs – to have emerged in Britain over the last decade, offering services without physical branches.

Revolut posted a record pre-tax profit of £438m for 2023 on strong user growth and soaring interest-related income. It could be valued at north of $40 billion through a planned share sale, Reuters reported last month.

Nik Storonsky, Revolut’s CEO, said in the statement that the announcement was an important milestone in the company’s journey that would “ensure we deliver on making Revolut the bank of choice for UK customers”.