Revolut, a global fintech giant with £250 billion ($300 billion as of 2023) in total payments volume, is reportedly eyeing a move to South Africa, according to a report by local publication TechCentral. If this plan follows through, it will be the fintech’s first entry into Africa, and its sixth continent.
While the fintech giant told the publication that it is still “evaluating” the South Africa expansion and is “quite early in the process,” the move appears to be part of Revolut’s aggressive market expansion efforts. In October 2024, it announced plans to secure a Colombian banking licence to extend its footprint in South America and has also made advanced plans to enter Singapore, its first move into Southeast Asia, hiring key executives to lead the operations.
Due to its wide range of products, a Revolut expansion would put South Africa’s biggest fintech players on their toes. The fintech offers multi-currency savings accounts, remittances, FX, cryptocurrency trading, web-based payment processing, and stock and commodity trading services—many of which overlap with fintechs like unicorn TymeBank, Stitch (payment gateway), Yoco, Ozow, Aza Finance, and crypto asset service providers (CASPs) like VALR and Luno, which were licenced in April 2024.
However, South Africa is a complex market with strict financial regulations. Revolut will likely launch with a stripped-down version of its app to secure a regulatory foothold, as it did in countries like Mexico before applying for a banking licence. The fintech could choose to focus on basic services like digital wallets and remittances before gradually expanding to other products like crypto trading and stock investments. It could offer its services as a SaaS tech company without establishing a local subsidiary. This phased approach would help it find a workaround to secure e-money or payments licences while testing the market.
BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) rules could also be a challenge. Many foreign fintechs choose to partner with local companies to improve compliance, and Revolut could take a similar path—working with South African banks or fintech firms to avoid full ownership and equity requirements.
But even with a cautious entry, Revolut faces stiff competition from well-established digital banks and payment providers. South Africans are already loyal to platforms like TymeBank, Capitec, and Standard Bank’s digital services. Convincing users to switch—especially with limited local brand awareness—won’t be easy. Yet, with Revolut’s global might, if the expansion goes through, it will be a test of resilience for South African fintechs.
