Revolut India CEO Unveils Upcoming Product to Revolutionize the Local FX Market
Revolut, the British fintech giant known for disrupting traditional financial services, is preparing to enter the Indian market with its innovative financial solutions. After receiving regulatory approval from India’s central bank, Revolut aims to launch its services in the second half of 2025, focusing initially on forex and domestic payments.
Innovative Services for India
Revolut India plans to provide wallets enabling forex transactions, domestic payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and prepaid cards. These services aim to simplify financial management for customers, offering cost-effective and seamless payment options.
In an interview with Financial Express, Paroma Chatterjee, CEO of Revolut India, shared insights about the upcoming launch:
“Our vision is to gradually introduce the full suite of Revolut products to the Indian market, adapting them to meet the unique needs and context of India. The first significant opportunity we’ve identified lies in the forex space.”
With its entry into the forex market, Revolut India intends to challenge the dominance of traditional banks that typically charge 3-5% on forex transactions.
“We are going to be the most affordable forex player in the country, which has been our USP in the UK and Europe,” added Chatterjee.
Simplified Account Setup
Revolut India is also leveraging digital innovation for onboarding, offering a fully digitized process with just 12 steps to set up an account. This approach aims to appeal to tech-savvy users and streamline customer acquisition.
A Competitive Market Landscape
India’s fintech ecosystem is booming, with a population of 1.4 billion and a rapidly growing digital payments sector. However, the market is not without its challenges. Data from the Reserve Bank of India shows a 5% decline in prepaid payment volumes in fiscal 2024, highlighting the uphill battle for new entrants.
Despite these challenges, Revolut’s integration with UPI, the country’s most popular payment infrastructure, offers significant potential. UPI processes payments across various merchants, from luxury hotels to street vendors, and its transaction volume could surpass $3 trillion by early 2025.
Global Strategy and India’s Role
Revolut’s expansion into India aligns with its global growth strategy, targeting high-growth markets. With over 45 million customers worldwide, India presents an opportunity to scale operations, although the revenue per client in the region may not match that of high-income markets like the UK or Europe.
Revolut isn’t the only global fintech entering India. Its competitor Stripe, after receiving its license earlier this year, continues to navigate the complexities of the Indian regulatory environment. These hurdles underscore the challenges Revolut faces, but also highlight the potential for significant rewards.