The digital challenger confirmed it has submitted its application for a UK bank licence as part of its “next important step to create a financial super app”.

By gaining a UK banking licence, it will be able to provide a full service current account, offering customers essential products such as overdrafts, loans and deposit accounts.

It would also mean customers would benefit from deposit protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000 per person if anything were to go wrong.

The challenger bank which started out offering FX and pre-paid cards for travellers back in 2015, has notched up 13 million global users and was granted an EU banking licence in Lithuania in 2018.

It has been crowned Britain’s fastest growing tech company for a second consecutive year in The Sunday Times’ Tech Track 100, and last year launched its first savings account for the UK market.

Nik Storonsky, founder and CEO of Revolut, said: “A UK banking licence allows us to provide the essential financial products UK customers expect from their everyday primary bank account, such as loans, credit cards, overdrafts and deposit accounts, coupled with the additional trust and security that is offered through FSCS protection.

“We want to be the best in class for customer experience, value and capabilities, and offering full bank accounts allows us to do just that. In the future, we want to offer many more innovative products to our UK customers and we are excited to continue driving innovation and competition in the banking industry. Becoming a fully licenced bank in the UK is a central pillar of that ambition.”