Revolut Wins Approval to Launch Payments Service in India

Revolut, a UK-based financial technology company, has received permission from India's central bank to issue prepaid payment instruments in the country. This includes prepaid cards and digital wallets that work with UPI, India's national payment system. The approval is a significant step for Revolut's expansion into one of the world's largest digital payments markets.

What This Permission Means

The Reserve Bank of India authorization allows Revolut to offer payment products directly to Indian customers without relying on cross-border arrangements from overseas, which had been a barrier for other international fintech companies. The license covers both physical cards and digital wallets linked to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—India's real-time payment network that handles over 13 billion transactions every month.

Paroma Chatterjee oversees Revolut's operations in India. The company opened its Indian office in 2021 and spent three years working through regulatory requirements before receiving this approval.

Building Momentum

Revolut has already attracted interest: 350,000 people are on a waiting list for the service. The company has set an ambitious goal of reaching 20 million customers in India by 2030. For context, that would equal about 38% of Revolut's entire global customer base, which stood at 52.5 million at the end of 2024.

India is one of Revolut's most important new markets since it expanded to Brazil and New Zealand in 2023. The company grew from 38 million retail customers in 2023 to 52.5 million in 2024, showing how quickly it can attract users in new countries.

India's Payments Market

India's digital payments space offers both real opportunity and real competition. Homegrown companies like Paytm and PhonePe lead the UPI space, and other global payment firms have found it difficult to build large market share because of India's strict rules about data storage and regulatory controls.

Revolut's approach through the prepaid route gives it a way to establish local operations and potentially grow into broader banking services over time. The company also received a restricted banking license in the UK in 2024, which could be a useful model for expanding into other countries.

How It Will Actually Work

The prepaid authorization comes with conditions. Revolut must hold customer money in separate accounts at Indian banks and follow India's customer identification rules. UPI integration means Revolut customers will be able to pay merchants, transfer money to other people, and pay bills using Revolut's prepaid cards or wallets.

This is quite different from how Revolut operates in Europe, where it can move between countries more freely under EU rules. In India, Revolut must partner with local banks to settle payments and follow rules about where data must be stored.

The Bigger Picture

India is the largest market Revolut has entered since building its base in Europe. The company reached a private valuation of $45 billion in 2024, making it Europe's most valuable private technology company. That success is built on its ability to expand digital banking services across different regulatory regimes.

In 2024, Revolut added new features like a loyalty program, opened bank accounts in several European countries, and expanded its credit lending book to nearly £1 billion. These moves show the company is building full financial ecosystems, not just single payment tools.

The pattern we have seen with other international fintech companies entering regulated markets follows a predictable path: start with basic payment tools, build customer trust and prove regulatory compliance, then add lending and investment products. Revolut's credit growth shows how this progression can happen relatively quickly once the foundation is solid.

From a strategic perspective, winning approval in India opens a market of over 1.4 billion potential users. Revolut's experience moving money across currencies and countries may appeal to Indian customers who do international transactions. Broader context: both Revolut and another UK fintech called Tide have announced India plans, backed by formal agreements between UK and Indian finance officials, reflecting India's pull for international financial technology companies looking to grow beyond mature Western markets.

Worth flagging: for Revolut, India's success could matter significantly if the company pursues a public listing. Access to a massive customer base could generate the transaction volume needed to support its current $45 billion valuation. Whether India becomes a real growth engine or an expensive expansion experiment depends largely on whether Revolut reaches its 20 million customer target by 2030.