European fintech company Revolut is considering expanding into Australia’s mortgage market as it looks to strengthen its position in the country and compete more directly with its largest banks.
The company received an Australian banking licence in July, its first banking licence in the Asia-Pacific region. The approval has opened the door for Revolut to broaden its services beyond the international payments and foreign exchange products that have helped it build a customer base in the country.
Revolut Australia Chief Executive Matt Baxby said mortgages could eventually become an important part of the company’s Australian business. Home lending represents a major financial opportunity, although it is also one of the most fiercely contested areas of the country’s banking industry.
Australia’s four largest banks — Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ — control at least 70% of the banking market, including mortgages and deposits. Macquarie has also rapidly expanded its home-lending operations and is now the country’s fifth-largest mortgage provider.
Baxby said entering mortgage lending would be a natural development as Revolut seeks to build deeper relationships with its customers. However, he acknowledged the scale of competition, with the major banks heavily focused on maintaining their positions in the housing market.
Revolut may have an advantage because it already had 1.2 million Australian customers before receiving its banking licence. Many of those customers were using the platform for international payments and foreign exchange services.
After securing the licence, Revolut began offering savings accounts and credit cards to Australian customers. The company operates a subscription-based banking model with four plans costing between A$5.99 and A$99.99 per month. Paid plans provide customers with benefits such as different savings rates for personal and business accounts and lower fees.
The fintech’s existing business has also shown strong growth. Revolut Australia recorded revenue of A$70.8 million in 2025, an increase of 74% from the previous year. The company reported a net profit of A$7.4 million, while net interest income reached A$17.1 million, representing a 110% increase from the previous year.
UBS banking analyst John Storey said Revolut’s progress in Australia would depend on its ability to attract more customers and increase their engagement with its platform. Customer spending and growth in deposits would also be important indicators of the company’s performance.
Storey said Revolut could represent a more credible challenge to established Australian banks than some previous digital banking entrants. Its deposit-focused model, technology-driven platform and growing range of financial products give it a broader base from which to compete. However, he said the immediate impact on the earnings of Australia’s major banks remained limited.
The Australian market has previously proved difficult for neobanks. Xinja and Volt, two Australian digital banks, closed in 2020 and 2022 respectively after struggling to build enough scale to compete with the country’s major financial institutions.
Analysts have pointed to several challenges faced by these earlier entrants. Xinja, for example, attracted customers by offering high deposit rates but did not introduce lending products quickly enough to offset the costs associated with those rates.
Joshua Koh, a partner at consultancy Simon-Kucher, said Australian consumers had historically been reluctant to move away from major banks. He noted that customers often use neobanks for specific benefits, such as attractive interest rates, while the established banks continue to have an advantage in everyday transaction banking.
Revolut, however, believes its existing sources of revenue put it in a stronger position. Baxby said the Australian business was already profitable, supported by foreign currency transactions and interchange fees. These fees are paid by merchants’ payment providers to card-issuing banks when customers make card purchases.
Revolut has expanded into 40 countries since beginning operations in 2015. The company is also preparing to launch in India as part of its wider goal of reaching 100 million customers by mid-2027.
The fintech recently launched a secondary share sale targeting a valuation of about $115 billion. At that valuation, Revolut would be worth more on paper than established European banking groups such as Barclays and Societe Generale.
Its next challenge in Australia will be turning its growing customer base into deeper banking relationships. Entering mortgages would give Revolut access to a much larger financial market, but competing with Australia’s established lenders will require the company to overcome strong customer loyalty and intense competition. With an established user base, growing revenue and an Australian banking licence now in place, Revolut has created a foundation for further expansion. Whether it can translate that foundation into a meaningful share of Australia’s mortgage market remains the key test.
