Revolut, a British neobank, has grown rapidly in Switzerland this year, trebling the number of its clients.
London-based Revolut has almost 250,000 clients in Switzerland, a spokesman of the company told «Handelszeitung». The smartphone-service provider added about 180,000 clients in 2019 alone.
With the surge in popularity, Revolut has left behind rivals such as Zak, the online service of Bank Cler. Zak had about 14,000 clients at the end of 2018. With the number of clients reported in the Swiss business newspaper, Revolut already achieved this year what Zak hoped to reach by 2021.
Putting Pressure on the Establishment
The rapid level of growth is adding pressure on Swiss banks to boost their digital services sooner rather than later. Credit Suisse for instance has responded, launching a direct banking unit, which is being led by an IT expert.
By contrast to the classic banks, Revolut won’t generate a huge profit despite its success in attracting so many new clients. The level of growth came not least thanks to the low cost of its products.
