By
Tolu Ajiboye
April 8th, 2024
Mastercard and Revolut have formed a new agreement that will saddle Mastercard with the responsibility of operating all of Revolut’s U.S. debit cards as it prepares to launch in the US.
Revolut Ltd, the financial technology and financial institution based in London, has entered an official partnership with Mastercard which will see the card giant handling all of Revolut’s debit cards when it launches in the United States before the year runs out.
According to an official press release, MasterCard will not only handle Revolut’s cards in the U.S., but will also run at least 50 percent of all Revolut cards in all of Europe, including existing and future cards. Reportedly, this is just a part of Revolut’s expansion plans which it will gradually unveil, as time goes on. The fintech company also intends to launch in other countries including Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
Speaking on the new project between both firms, the Revolut founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nik Storonsky has stated that Revolut and MasterCard have enjoyed a very productive and mutually beneficial relationship since the former’s launch back in 2015 and the partnership will support Revolut’s plans for further expansion. Storonsky said:
“As a launch partner of Revolut, Mastercard has been an important contributor to our success, and today’s agreement will enable us to meet our ambitious goal of offering innovative financial and payment solutions to people all over the world. Launching in the U.S. will be a huge milestone for us, and we are delighted Mastercard will be our go-to-market partner.”
It might be important, however, to note that just a few weeks ago, Revolut announced a similar expansion plan but this time in partnership with Mastercard’s major rival, Visa. This partnership will see the two companies working together to expand Revolut’s fintech services to 24 new markets. The new deal is also expected to help Revolut increase its staff strength by 3,500 by next year. Already, Revolut has a 30-man staff strength in the U.S. and has revealed plans to triple that to 90, within six months.
Speaking on the expansion, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, Michael Miebach, has also stressed on the fintech company’s goal of reaching more people globally, with a combination of services from both firms. Miebach said:
“Revolut’s success and its speed to new markets, such as the US, is welcome proof of our commitment to tailoring support for fintechs. Broadening Revolut’s global reach will enable millions more people around the world to benefit from Mastercard’s worldwide acceptance footprint and Revolut’s ground breaking financial services.”
The relationship between both firms began a few years ago when Mastercard created its Start Path program, a project which allows the payment company on-board start-ups who need to quickly scale up and use Mastercard’s several solutions.
Apart from traditional banking services, Revolut also gives its customers the opportunity to engage in stock trading and digital currency trading as well. At the moment, it is unclear exactly what services will be open to U.S customers at this initial stage.