Revolut became a registered bank in New Zealand today (Tuesday), almost two years after it applied. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) approved Revolut Bank New Zealand as the country's 27th registered bank.

The registration moves Revolut's local customers into deposit insurance. Eligible deposits are now covered by the government's Depositor Compensation Scheme up to NZ$100,000.

It also lets Revolut pay interest on savings, which its earlier status as a registered financial service provider did not allow.

Revolut started in New Zealand in July 2023 with payments, currency exchange and crypto trading, and applied for bank registration in December 2024, after processing about NZ$350 million in local transactions.

The first product is a savings account paying a variable 3.50% to new retail customers for their first four months, with interest credited daily. Revolut said it will invest NZ$120 million in the local business over five years and add credit products later.

The New Zealand approval took about 23 months from application, a shorter wait than Revolut faced at home. Revolut applied in Britain in 2021 and secured a full UK banking license in March, after about two years of operating under restrictions.

Most of its licenses have arrived this year. Australia's prudential regulator granted Revolut an unrestricted license in July.

A month later the European Central Bank approved its second bank inside the EU, in France, alongside the Lithuanian bank that serves the rest of the bloc.

Chief Executive Nik Storonsky put the New Zealand registration at seven bank licenses in total, five of them in 2026.

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