Revolut prioritises larger markets: ‘It is not in the immediate roadmap yet’ for Luxembourg

A new local payment feature announced by Revolut last week for customers in France, Germany and Belgium will not be available to almost 90,000 users of the neobank in Luxembourg, representatives for the digital first bank have confirmed.

Revolut announced the service at Money20/20 in Amsterdam last week, one of Europe’s biggest fintech fairs. The rollout, planned for July, will enable Revolut customers in those countries to send and receive money instantly via the Wero digital wallet, which was launched by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) in 2024.

“Currently, Wero is only available in France, Germany and Belgium. That’s why we’re launching in those countries first,” said David Tirado, Revolut’s vice president for global business, speaking with the Luxembourg Times on the sidelines of the Amsterdam event.

A session at the Money 2020 conference in Amsterdam © Photo credit: Money 2020 Europe

“Currently, Wero is only available in France, Germany and Belgium. That’s why we’re launching in those countries first,” said David Tirado, Revolut’s vice president for global business, speaking with the Luxembourg Times on the sidelines of the Amsterdam event.

Although Wero has announced that it will be available in Luxembourg in participation with the country’s major banks, the integration has not been completed yet. In December 2024, EPI told newspaper L’essentiel that the roll-out in Luxembourg will begin in “2025 and beyond.”

Supported by leading banks and payment firms across Europe, including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Worldline, the platform aims to let a German user, for example, pay a hotel in France instantly and directly from their bank account, without relying on Visa or Mastercard.

At launch, Wero will only support mobile numbers from France, Germany and Belgium, but the platform aims to expand.

Wero currently enables instant person-to-person payments. Users don’t need to share the same app or provider, they can register through their regular online banking. Funds are transferred directly to the recipient’s bank account within seconds, with no middleman involved.

“You know someone’s number, and you can transfer money based on that. No need for an IBAN,” Tirado said.

Luxembourg not a priority for Revolut

Revolut’s customers in Luxembourg currently receive Lithuanian IBAN numbers, as the company does not have a branch or banking partner in the country. That limits what can be offered locally, Tirado said.

At the moment, Revolut is not planning to establish a presence in the Grand Duchy. “It is not in the immediate roadmap yet. We will have a look at it in the next coming years, but at the moment we haven’t made a decision yet,” Tirado said.

David Tirado  © Photo credit: Revolut

At the moment, Revolut is not planning to establish a presence in the Grand Duchy. “It is not in the immediate roadmap yet. We will have a look at it in the next coming years, but at the moment we haven’t made a decision yet,” Tirado said.

The neobank is prioritising larger markets with more users. “We are prioritising markets based on the number of users we have in every market,” he said. “We’ve done France, which is our second-biggest market after the UK. Then Spain. The next priorities are countries like Portugal, for example.”

Revolut, launched in 2015 as a prepaid debit card and mobile app, has since evolved into a full-fledged financial platform. Today, it offers personal and business banking services, investment options, cryptocurrency trading, and lifestyle features such as hotel bookings and eSIM-based mobile plans.

Tirado said the neobank is looking to build further on this. “We’re expanding on the innovation pillar. We’re launching telco plans in Germany and the UK. Our points programme already has over six million users – it’s the biggest for a debit card in Europe.”

In addition, the company also plans to expand into new geographies. “We’re growing in the US, Australia, Brazil, Japan and we’re setting up in Mexico,” Tirado said. “We’ve applied for licences in Colombia, the UAE, and we’re looking at Southeast Asia.”

Revolut is Europe’s most valuable fintech company, valued at $45 billion (€39 billion). Reports suggest that the company could soon be headed for listing in the public markets through an initial public offering (IPO).