Is Revolut Publicly Traded? IPO & Alternative Stocks & Shares

Revolut is building a one-stop financial app, which it calls a “superapp”, and many like it. Between 2019 and 2023, Revolut app users increased from 10 million to over 35 million. The company’s stated goal is to go to 350 million customers and beyond. Revolut also continues to report strong revenue growth.

You can see why many are asking about how to invest in Revolut. Is Revolut publicly traded?

In this article, you’ll find out whether Revolut is publicly traded and learn about Revolut alternative stocks you could buy. In the end, we provide a guide on how to invest in these stocks.

Is Revolut publicly traded?

Revolut is not publicly traded yet in 2024. As a result, individual investors cannot purchase Revolut shares on the open market. But that would change once Revolut conducts an IPO and Revolut shares debut on the public market.

When is the Revolut IPO date?

Revolut IPO has been a highly speculated and anticipated event in the investment world.

Since when the British fintech startup surpassed 10 million customers in 2019 to when it raised $800 million in 2021 from heavyweight investors such as SoftBank, many have been looking forward to a Revolut IPO.

While Revolut IPO date has not been set yet, the company is expected to go public at some point. According to Revolut executives, IPO plans depend on the company achieving certain growth targets.

Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky told Bloomberg in 2021 that the company would consider going public when it has hit at least a few billions of dollars in annual revenue. With Revolut’s 2023 revenue estimated at $2 billion, the fintech startup appears to be edging closer to its IPO date.

While exactly when the Revolut IPO will come remains a subject of speculation, it is almost certain where the IPO would take place. When the time comes for the Revolut IPO, the company would choose to go public in the U.S., according to its CEO.

Revolut alternative stocks and shares

Now that the Revolut IPO is still out and you cannot yet buy Revolut shares on the open market yet, you might want to consider Revolut alternative stocks instead.

The fintech industry that Revolut belongs to appears to have a bright future. The global annual fintech industry revenue is forecast to grow sixfold to $1.5 trillion by 2030, from $245 billion in 2021, according to Boston Consulting Group. That tells you that fintech can be a lucrative business for the companies with the right products on the market.

There are many publicly traded fintech companies out there with highly popular products and fast-growing customer base and market footprints. Here are four fintech stocks you might like as Revolut alternatives.

1. Wise (WISE) (WPLCF)

Wise (WISE) (WPLCF) is one of Revolut’s biggest competitors in money transfer and currency exchange services. While it is best-known for its cross-border cash transfer service, Wise is steadily expanding its business scope and market footprint. For example, Wise now offers debit cards, high-yield savings accounts and investing services.

Wise and Revolut are both British fintech companies with big ambitions and potential.

Wise shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “WISE.” In the U.S., Wise stock is traded over the counter where it is identified by the ticker symbol “WPLCF.”

2. PayPal Holdings (PYPL)

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is one of the world’s top fintech companies and a major Revolut competitor. It operates in more than 200 countries, so it has a broader international footprint than Revolut. PayPal had about 430 million users globally in 2023, consisting of personal and business accounts.

The PayPal platform supports functions such as sending money, receiving payments and trading cryptocurrencies. Additionally, PayPal offers loans and issues debit and credit cards.

The company operates through multiple brands, including the namesake PayPal app, Venmo and Xoom.

PayPal has been consistently profitable for at least the past 10 years.

3. SoFi Technologies (SOFI)

SoFi Technologies (SOFI) provides various digital financial services, making it one of the major Revolut alternatives in the fintech space. The company operates personal and business segments.

In the personal segment, SoFi offers checking and savings accounts, personal loans, student loans, mortgage loans and debit and credit cards. It also offers insurance products, retirement accounts and brokerage services. The SoFi brokerage platform supports trading in stocks, crypto and other financial products.

In its business segment, SoFi provides a technology platform and other solutions to businesses of various types.

SoFi had about 7 million users in 2023. As SoFi has concentrated on building its business in its U.S. home market, the company has limited international footprint currently.

4. Block (SQ)

Block (SQ) is a financial services company operating through brands such as Square and Cash App. Through its Square unit, it processes payments and offers loans to merchants. Square also offers a high-yield savings account for businesses. Square has more than 4 million merchant customers.

Through its Cash App unit, which has more than 50 million users, Block offers mostly personal financial services around sending, saving and spending money. It issues the Cash App debit card that holders can use to pay for purchases online and in-store or withdraw funds from ATMs.

The Cash App also includes a brokerage function that allows users to trade stocks, bitcoin and other financial products.

Although Block has been profitable on-and-off on an annual basis, it has been reporting growing annual revenue. There is room for the company to keep growing its revenue and improve its profitability as it expands its product portfolio and enters more countries.

How to buy Revolut alternative stocks

While Revolut is not publicly traded and Revolut shares are not easily accessible to individual investors, there are many other Revolut alternative stocks you could buy.

Once you have determined the best fintech stocks or Revolut alternatives to invest in, choose a good stock broker to use to buy the shares. 

There are countless brokers out there, varying by investment selection, market coverage, trading fee and other features.

On investment selection, some brokers support more investment products than others. For example, while some brokers may only offer stocks, others may offer everything from stocks to ETFs to crypto.

On market coverage, some brokers only support trading in U.S. stocks while others offer both U.S. and international stocks. Also, some brokers may only offer access to stocks on major exchanges while others may offer access to over-the-counter markets as well.

On trading fees, some brokers charge trading commissions on everything, others only have trading commissions on select investment products, while others still don’t charge trading commissions on anything.

With that in mind, it is important to choose your broker carefully. To help you with your broker selection, these are some of the best brokers for beginner and pro investors.

Let’s now go through a step-by-step process of buying PayPal shares with eToro.

1. Open an account

Go to the eToro website here or download the eToro app and sign up.

It may take a few days for eToro to verify and approve your account to get you ready to start investing on the platform.

2. Deposit funds in the account

Once you have the eToro brokerage account set up and ready to use, determine how much money you want to invest and deposit the funds.

For account deposits, eToro supports all the major funding methods, including debit cards, credit cards, bank transfers and digital wallets such as PayPal and Skrill.

With the brokerage account set up and funded, you are ready to start buying PayPal shares.

As one of the top brokers, eToro offers thousands of stocks for investors to choose from. To help you easily locate the exact stock you want to invest in, eToro has a search tool that helps you screen for stocks by company name or ticker symbol.

Enter “PayPal” or “PYPL” in the search bar as shown in the image below to find the PayPal stock. After you find the stock, click on the corresponding “Trade” button.

3. Find PayPal stock

With the brokerage account set up and funded, you are ready to start buying PayPal shares.

As one of the top brokers, eToro offers thousands of stocks for investors to choose from. To help you easily locate the exact stock you want to invest in, eToro has a search tool that helps you screen for stocks by company name or ticker symbol.

Enter “PayPal” or “PYPL” in the search bar as shown in the image below to find the PayPal stock. After you find the stock, click on the corresponding “Trade” button.

4. Place a buy order

You have opened a brokerage account, funded it and chosen the stock to buy. Now the time has come for you to make the actual purchase of your favorite stock. All you have to do at this point is place a buy order.

This is an important step, so you want to be sure you are doing it right. 

While on the order page, follow these steps:

1. Enter the amount you want to invest. 
2. Select the order type: Market order or Limit order
3. Click “Open Trade”

There are a few things you should note.

The market order type allows you to buy shares immediately at the current market price. The limit order type, on the other hand, allows you to set the price at which you want to buy the shares.

If you prefer it, eToro lets you make risk management settings. You can set stop-loss and take-profit points.

The stop-loss point is the price level at which you would want to close your position if it is losing value. The take-profit point is the price level at which you would want to close your position and book the profit after the investment has gained value.

That is the step-by-step process of buying PayPal shares on eToro.

What does Revolut do?

Revolut operates in the financial technology (fintech) industry. It provides a broad array of financial services through the namesake Revolut app. It offers bank account products for personal and business use, money transfer, debit cards, currency exchange and insurance services.

Additionally, it provides loans, offers budgeting and bill paying tools and supports stock and cryptocurrency trading.

Revolut is based in the UK and operates globally. At the end of 2023, it had footprints in 38 countries, including the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Australia and Brazil.

It continues to roll out its service in more countries. The company is seeking bank licenses in the UK and US that would allow it to offer more services and make more money in these markets.

Who is the owner of Revolut?

Revolut was founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, who remain large shareholders in the business. Storonsky, whose stake in Revolut stood at 24% in 2021, runs the company as its chief executive. Yatsenko serves as Revolut’s chief technology officer.

Apart from these founders, SoftBank and Tiger Global have also invested in Revolut, acquiring large stakes in the British fintech company.

How does Revolut make money?

Revolut has multiple revenue streams. These include transaction fees, subscription fees, and interest on loans and bank deposits.

The company’s business model allows it to make more money as its customer base expands and its product portfolio grows. That explains why the company is working hard to launch in more markets and introduce additional products.

Is Revolut profitable?

Revolut made a profit of $7 million in 2022 on revenue of $1.1 billion. Although the company’s profit dipped from about $30 million in 2021, the revenue increased 45% from $786 million in 2021. The company expected its revenue to hit $2 billion in 2023.

Takeaway

To recap, Revolut is a fast-growing fintech startup with a promising outlook. While Revolut is not a publicly traded company yet with a stock that you can buy on the open market, Revolut IPO is highly anticipated.

Before Revolut becomes a publicly traded company, there are many Revolut alternative stocks that would give you exposure to the lucrative fintech industry. A few of the Revolut alternative shares you might want to consider are Wise, PayPal, SoFi and Block.

Once you have selected your favorite stock, here is the process of buying it.

1. Choose a suitable broker: Choose a low-commission or no-commission broker to save on investing costs. If you want to trade both U.S. and international stocks, select a broker that offers access to overseas markets.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account: You’ll need to supply personal details to open a brokerage account. After the account is set up and approved, determine how much you want to invest and deposit the money in the account.
3. Make a buy order: With money in your brokerage account, place a buy order for the stock you want to purchase. Choose the market order type if you want to buy the stock at the current market price. Choose a limit order if you prefer to buy the stock at a particular price that you like.

We hope that this post has helped you know that Revolut is not publicly traded yet, and informed you about Revolut alternative stocks you could invest in if you want exposure to the fintech industry. Be sure to do your due diligence before investing.

Happy investing!