The SME platform is live, the licence application is in — Revolut is building toward something bigger
Global fintech Revolut launched a dedicated business banking platform for New Zealand small and medium-sized enterprises, targeting what it describes as the "high fees, branch-heavy onboarding and fragmented tooling" of NZ's incumbent banks.
NZ country manager Georgia Grange (pictured left) told RNZ the major banks apply a one-size-fits-all approach, leaving globally ambitious SMEs juggling multiple providers.
"We want to be that one financial platform," Grange said.
The platform offers foreign exchange at rates Grange claims are typically eight times cheaper than the major banks, alongside payroll, card, and expense management tools.
Revolut's global head of business James Gibson (pictured right) told interest.co.nz the target is "north of 50,000" NZ business customers over five years, backed by a $120 million investment and plans to nearly triple local headcount to around 90 by end of financial year 2026.
The bigger picture for NZ's lending market
Behind the SME launch sits a more significant move — a banking licence application with the RBNZ, submitted in December 2024 and still under assessment.
If successful, Revolut has signalled it will launch interest-bearing savings products and a broader range of credit options. It already operates a nascent mortgages book in markets where it holds banking licences, according to Revolut's own announcement.
The RBNZ licensing process is typically lengthy — Heartland Bank took approximately two years from application to registration. But Revolut's NZ momentum is real. Revenue rose 99% year-on-year in 2025 and retail customer numbers grew 96% over the same period, generating more than 6.5 million transactions, according to RNZ and IT Brief.
NZ's financial sector is, as Revolut itself describes it, "dominated by incumbent banks" holding over 90% of the country's banking share. If the licence is granted and credit products follow, that dynamic could shift materially.
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