Revolut applies for Swiss banking license, unveils investment plans

ZURICH, Sept 16 (Reuters) - British digital bank Revolut has applied for a Swiss banking licence and unveiled plans to invest more than 150 million Swiss francs ($183.31 million) to expand in the lucrative Swiss market.

The company has applied for a banking license with the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), Revolut said on Wednesday.

Getting the green light will allow Revolut to offer its customers in Switzerland a broader range of services, including salary accounts, access to Swiss deposit insurance, and local IBAN account numbers.

Approval would make Revolut's Swiss business the fourth standalone bank it operates in Europe, after Britain, Lithuania, and France, said Chief Commercial Officer, David Tirado.

"This reflects the importance we give to this market," he told Reuters.

Until now, the fintech has been limited in Switzerland by the fact that it cannot offer any salary accounts or investment accounts denominated in francs.

"In Switzerland, we have 1.3 million customers, which corresponds to a penetration of around 24%," said Tirado. "In two to three years, we would expect to surpass 40%."

The license application in Switzerland is part of the company's expansion strategy.

Earlier this month, Revolut received preliminary approval for a national banking license in the United States. It gained banking licenses in Britain and France earlier this year.

($1 = 0.8183 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Oliver Hirt, writing by John Revill, editing by Linda Pasquini)