Revolut will spend A$400 million (€245 million) in a bid to disrupt Australia’s Big Four banks after winning a full banking licence in the country.The UK fintech valued at $75 billion (€66 billion) launched savings and credit products for Australian customers on Tuesday after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority awarded it an unrestricted licence.It is the first Asia-Pacific licence that Revolut has won and only the second outside the UK and Europe, after Mexico.The company already has 1.2 million retail and business customers in Australia using the app for services including foreign exchange and trading. Revolut had earmarked full expansion in Australia as a “long-term strategic priority”, according to Nik Storonsky, founder and chief executive.Australia’s banking market is dominated by the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Group. The four have withstood competition from overseas players including Citibank and HSBC and a number of neobanks that were started in the past decade but mostly failed.Matt Baxby, chief executive of Revolut Bank Australia, said that the company was already profitable and its existing customer base meant it was starting in a stronger position than other neobanks.Will the State’s plan for the Carlton Cinema site revitalise O’Connell Street? Listen | 25:33Macquarie’s rapid growth in the savings market had shown that a digital product offering high interest rates could win market share, he said.Matthew Wilson, an analyst with the Jarden investment group, said that Revolut was “well placed” to disrupt Australia’s banking sector in credit and savings in a similar vein to Macquarie, given its record in markets such as Ireland.“They’re sharp operators,” Wilson said. “It’s not easy given the size of the incumbents. But Revolut has the beachhead in the UK. They’re not a new bank – they’re new to Australia.”Revolut hoped that the full banking licence would also mean more customers trust it for everyday banking, given its stricter regulatory and compliance requirements. “It comes with a high bar,” Baxby said of the new licence. The fintech has also applied for a full banking licence in New Zealand, where the same four Australian banks dominate the market. Baxby described New Zealand as “prime ground” for Revolut to expand.Revolut was granted a full UK banking licence in March following a multiyear wait. The FT reported in April that the fintech is aiming for a valuation of between $150bn and $200bn in a stock market listing no sooner than 2028. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026