British fintech Revolut, valued at US$75 billion, announced that it has applied for a banking license in Peru. This move marks the company’s fifth expansion in Latin America, following its announced plans for Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, and is part of its global strategy to reach 100 million customers by 2027.
This foray reflects the private sector’s growing interest in Latin American digital banking, where the near-universal adoption of smartphones and a still underbanked population create fertile ground for fintechs. A full license would allow Revolut, which already has more than 70 million retail customers worldwide, to gradually introduce a wider range of localized products.
“We bring our own impressive P2P network, which is the ability to move money between you and your family members in different parts of the world instantly and at zero cost,” said Diego Caicedo, CEO of Revolut in Colombia, during an interview with Entrepreneur.
The decisive factors for the license
However, the path from application to license granting in Peru involves exceeding regulatory expectations that go beyond mere compliance.
“In our experience, the granting of a digital banking license does not depend solely on formal regulatory compliance,” explains Guillermo Delgado, Global AI leader at Nisum.
“In practice, the Peruvian regulator prioritizes operational maturity: effective governance, controls applied to the local context, operational resilience, rigorous management of technology third parties, and a clear stance on cybersecurity and business continuity.” According to his analysis, Peru is not the most flexible market, but it is one where the predictability of the process increases significantly when the technology architecture and operating model are well designed from the outset.
The potential impact on the Peruvian market
According to estimates, between 40% and 45% of the adult population in Peru is unbanked, and many of those who are banked make limited use of the products available. “The main barriers are not a lack of technology,” says Delgado, “but rather the informality of income, the perceived cost of services, low financial literacy, and friction in onboarding processes. This makes financial inclusion an opportunity for structural growth.”
The entry of Revolut would mean a paradigm shift in local banking. For Delgado, a license could accelerate significant changes in 12 to 24 months. “Beyond possible pressure on prices and fees, the impact would be to raise the standard of digital experience, simplify access to accounts, payments, remittances, and multi-currency products, and force traditional banks to modernize their core platforms, risk models, and digital channels.”
Revolut’s application in Peru is therefore more than just a regulatory formality. It is a sign of the maturing Latin American fintech ecosystem and a harbinger of competition that will increasingly focus on operational strength, well-governed technological innovation, and the real capacity to include millions of new users in the formal financial system.
As the company moves forward with its banking license, all eyes will be on how the British fintech adapts and deploys its value proposition in a market exposed to native technology platforms such as Rappipay, Global66, Nequi, Ualá, Mercado Pago, Daviplata, and Bold.
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