Bank of England orders outside review of Revolut’s product controls

What happened

The Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the arm of the Bank of England that supervises banks, issued a so-called Section 166 order to Revolut earlier this year. According to the FT, which cited people familiar with the matter, the order looks at the risks tied to how fast the fintech rolls out new financial products, and it landed around the time Revolut won its full UK banking licence in March. Neither Revolut nor the Bank of England would comment, according to fintech news site Fintech Garden. The report came a day after Revolut unveiled unsecured UK personal loans of £2,000 to £25,000.

What it means

A Section 166 order is a formal supervisory tool, not a fine. Under it, a regulated firm must hire independent specialists, usually accountants or lawyers, to examine its systems and controls and write a report with recommended fixes. The PRA's own guidance says it can use these reviews to diagnose risks, track them, head them off or respond once they have materialized. The guidance also says that relying on them for enforcement is rare, and that the firm normally foots the bill. Still, if the experts uncover serious failings, penalties or other action could follow, according to reports summarizing the FT story.

The timing is what makes this notable. Revolut spent about 20 months in the PRA's mobilization stage, a restricted period for new banks that usually lasts around a year and includes a cap on deposits, before it was cleared on March 11 to operate as a full UK bank, tech.eu reported at the time. That approval let it offer deposits protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and opened the door to lending. The FT report suggests the regulator wanted an independent check on Revolut's internal systems at the very moment it gained those new freedoms.

Revolut is now moving quickly. Beyond the new loans, it announced a tie-up with asset manager Carne that would let customers put money into private technology companies. The group has more than 80 million customers and is valued at $115 billion, the FT reported, which by that measure makes it bigger than three of the four largest UK high-street lenders. It also aims to operate in 70 countries by 2030, up from 40 today.

Speed is part of the company's culture, and that has drawn scrutiny before. Chief executive Nik Storonsky has urged staff to behave like "self-guided missiles" when building products, with little central oversight, the FT reported. In 2025, the European Central Bank put limits on the growth of Revolut's European business after finding weaknesses in how it approved products, and it required a separate outside review of the teams overseeing launches, according to Fintech Garden. The UK review now puts a similar question on the table in Revolut's home market.

The bull case

A skilled-person review is a routine supervisory tool, and the PRA's guidance says it is mostly used to fix problems rather than punish them. Revolut still won its full licence in March and is already rolling out loans and new investment options. If the review leads to stronger controls, it could reassure regulators in other countries as Revolut pursues more licences and its goal of reaching 70 markets.

The bear case

The order shows the Bank of England has doubts about whether Revolut's checks can keep pace with its product launches, echoing the ECB's concerns in 2025. Recommendations could slow the rollout of loans and other services in the UK, and serious findings could lead to penalties. For a company valued at $115 billion on its growth story, a slower pace of launches could weigh on that valuation.