US fintech unicorn Cross River Bank to power Revolut’s consumer loans

Revolut is dialling up its American ambitions with a partnership that it says will enable a wave of consumer lending, including credit and personal loans for its US customers.

The partnership is with US fintech unicorn Cross River Bank, which was last month valued at $3bn as part of a $620m funding round.

Cross River already provides the lending infrastructure for fast-growing fintechs like Affirm,Coinbase and Stripe.

At the moment Revolut only offers loans and credit cards in specific markets including Poland, Ireland and Lithuania, but not some of its largest markets like the UK or US.

As part of its tie-up with Cross Bank, Revolut says its US customers will soon be able to check out their borrowing rates from its app and request a loan.

Interestingly while loans are only available for Revolut customers to start off with, the fintech says “all US consumers” will be able to apply for a Revolut loan in the next few months.

Tarun Bhushan, Revolut’s US head of lending, said: “the move into credit and personal loans is a natural next step.”

“Revolut has developed technology to provide loans instantly to approved customers, with no origination fees - so customers can get the credit they need, when they need it,” 

Bhushan is clear that the announcement with Cross River only covers US consumers for the time being, so UK customers wanting to borrow from Revolut will have to wait a little longer.

Loans are also only the start for Revolut’s US lending plan, the fintech teasing that “additional credit offerings” are coming soon.

Could Revolut also be planning on launching its credit card stateside? We’ll find out soon enough.