UK fintech firm Revolut gets license to expand to Japan and Singapore

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Nikolay Storonsky, chief executive of Revolut, on stage at the MoneyConf fintech event in Lisbon, Portugal.

British mobile bank Revolut has obtained licenses to operate in Japan and Singapore as it readies an expansion into Asia.

The London-based financial technology firm said Thursday that it had acquired a remittance license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and full authorization from Japan’s Financial Services Agency.

Revolut offers users a prepaid debit card and a current account, as well as premium features like cryptocurrency trading and free unlimited foreign exchange.

It said Thursday that it intends to launch its platform in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the first quarter of 2019, and is looking to select Singapore to host its APAC headquarters.

Revolut also has plans to eventually release its app in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

“We have confidence that Revolut will continue to be a driving force as we expand globally, developing a range of exciting new services for increasingly connected consumers in APAC,” Revolut Chief Executive Nikolay Storonsky said in a statement Thursday.

“It’s a huge market and we’re already seeing an incredible amount of people demanding our product.”

More than 50,000 people in the APAC region have signed up to a waiting list to create an account with Revolut, the firm said.

Revolut added that it is working with Singapore’s central bank to advise on legislation being tabled in the country’s parliament and aimed at streamlining payments regulation under one single piece of legislation.

It has also partnered with Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten, property insurer Sompo Japan Insurance and printing firm Toppan.