London-headquartered fintech Revolut has officially launched in India, aiming to disrupt the country’s cross-border payments and foreign exchange market. According to the company, Indians spend around $30 billion overseas each year and lose approximately $600 million in bank fees — charges Revolut India CEO Paroma Chatterjee described as “criminal.”
“Cross-border payments have long been the preserve of banks,” Chatterjee told TechCrunch. “Traditional travel cards or bank services levy humongous charges, and we want to change that.”
Revolut has been preparing for its India debut since 2021. In 2022, it acquired Arvog Forex to obtain a license to offer remittance and multi-currency accounts. Earlier this year, the company also received a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) license from the Reserve Bank of India, allowing it to issue prepaid cards, integrate with UPI, and support digital wallets.
With these regulatory approvals, Revolut plans to challenge traditional banks and fintech rivals, targeting over 150 million digitally savvy Indians aged 25 to 45. The company aims to onboard about 20 million users by 2030 and process at least $7 billion in transactions.
Revolut’s offerings in India include a prepaid wallet with UPI support and branded UPI handles, a domestic Visa card, an international multi-currency Visa card, and accounts for kids and teens linked to parents’ profiles. It will also provide subscription services, budgeting tools, and analytics to help users track spending habits.
Unlike many Indian fintech players that allow quick, low-value onboarding, Revolut will provide full-KYC wallets. Users will undergo detailed verification, including Aadhaar and video checks, and will be screened against global sanctions lists, including those maintained by the United Nations and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. “This approach ensures we attract high-intent customers,” Chatterjee said.
Revolut plans to prioritize engagement and profitability over sheer user numbers. “Globally, we have 65 million customers but process over $4 billion in transactions per month and generate more than $1 billion in profit because our 25 million active users are highly engaged,” Chatterjee explained.
The fintech already has a waitlist of more than 350,000 users in India, which it plans to onboard before fully opening the app to new customers. While Visa is the initial partner, Revolut is exploring additional options, including the Indian government-backed RuPay network.
To kickstart its Indian operations, Revolut has invested $45 million and localized its tech stack to comply with data sovereignty regulations. India is now home to its largest workforce globally, with 3,500 of its 10,000 employees based in the country.
Despite Revolut’s ambitious plans, competition is stiff. Banks dominate foreign exchange, while fintech players such as Niyo, Scapia, Fi, and BookMyForex are already active in India’s cross-border and remittance market.
