# Revolut Financial Model Mobile "personal money cloud" for fee-free cross-currency spending, sending, and exchange. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/revolut - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/revolut.xlsx - Category: Fintech - Model type: 3-Statement - Funding round: Seed - Funding: $66M - Founded: 2015 - Geography: UK initial market; global cross-currency use case. [DECK slide 3] - Customer: B2B2C, B2C ## About the company Revolut is a mobile personal-money platform built around fee-free cross-currency spending, transfers, and exchange. Its consumer proposition uses a freemium account to acquire users, then monetises activity and paid product tiers. The available research identifies interchange on card spend and monthly subscriptions as the two active revenue streams, with Basic and Pro tiers alongside a free offering. Viral acquisition and product engagement are central to reducing customer-acquisition costs. The model should forecast user cohorts, free-to-paid conversion, tier mix, monthly subscription ARPU, active-card rate, and spend per active user. Apply interchange to card volume, then separately model rewards, FX, support, and payment costs to capture the true profitability of the consumer fintech model. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## Product & value proposition Three core actions on a single mobile app: Exchange, Send, Spend. - Exchange at interbank rates (no markup). - Send money instantly without IBAN friction. - Spend abroad via MasterCard prepaid card with no FX fee. - Own infrastructure (not a white-label reseller). - Patent pending. - Tagline: "The only product that solves the full cycle of a customer pain." ## Market - TAM: $1.4 Trillion in annual cross-currency transactions. - SAM (value destruction): $60 Billion lost to fees & spreads annually. - User universe: 1.5 Billion+ travellers & expats globally. - SOM / beachhead: UK market = $3bn market size, 60 million travelers. - No CAGR or growth rate cited in deck. ## Revenue model Freemium tiered model with two active revenue streams: **Tiers:** | Tier | Price | Terms | | -- | -- | -- | | FREE | £0 | No fees up to £1,000 top-up | | BASIC | £1/month | 1% exchange, £1 transfer, £1 ATM | | PRO | £10/month | Everything free | **Revenue streams (per projections slide):** 1. Interchange Revenue - earned on card transactions (use of card). 2. Subscription Revenue - monthly fees from BASIC (£1/mo) and PRO (£10/mo) subscribers. Viral loop embedded: free users can increase their limit by inviting friends. ## Traction & metrics - 4,800 pre-product subscribers within one month. - 9 partnership deals signed, including MasterCard (for card implementation), Optimal Payments, and Barclays. - Finalist at Finovate Europe 2015. - No live revenue, no active user data - pre-launch at time of deck. **Projection table (all figures GBP):** | | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | Newly Acquired Customers | 20,000 | 40,000 | 80,000 | 120,000 | 160,000 | | Total Customers (cumulative) | 20,000 | 60,000 | 140,000 | 260,000 | 420,000 | | Paying Customers | 5,000 | 18,000 | 42,000 | 78,000 | 126,000 | | Avg Annual Top-Up per customer | £5,000 | £5,000 | £5,000 | £5,000 | £5,000 | | Interchange Revenue | £90,000 | £270,000 | £630,000 | £1,170,000 | £1,890,000 | | Subscription Revenue | £600,000 | £2,160,000 | £5,040,000 | £9,360,000 | £15,120,000 | | **Total Revenue** | **£690,000** | **£2,430,000** | **£5,670,000** | **£10,530,000** | **£17,010,000** | | Total Direct Costs | £461,650 | £1,369,650 | £2,225,650 | £3,149,650 | £4,381,650 | | **Gross Profit** | **£228,350** | **£1,060,350** | **£3,444,350** | **£7,380,350** | **£12,628,350** | | Total OpEx | £250,000 | £500,000 | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 | £2,000,000 | | (second OpEx line) | £550,000 | £1,100,000 | £2,200,000 | £3,800,000 | £4,400,000 | | User Acquisition Expenses | £300,000 | £600,000 | £1,200,000 | £1,800,000 | £2,400,000 | | **Net Profit (Loss)** | **-£321,650** | **-£39,650** | **£1,244,350** | **£3,580,350** | **£8,228,350** | Note: the deck has two separate OpEx rows (likely headcount + other overhead split) that are both labelled "Total Operating Expenses" - the second row appears to be a different cost bucket. Numbers confirmed from image. ## Unit economics Implied from projections (not explicitly stated as unit economics in deck): - Paying customer conversion rate: 25% of total base Year 1 → 30% by Year 5. - Average Annual Top-Up: £5,000 flat across all years. - Implied blended subscription ARPU (paying): £600k / 5k = £120/year (~£10/mo) in Year 1 - consistent with PRO plan pricing. - Interchange as % of top-up volume: ~£90k on 20k × £5k = £100m top-up → ~0.09% interchange yield. - Gross margin: rises from ~33% (Y1) to ~74% (Y5) as fixed-ish transaction costs scale sublinearly. ## Competition / moat Positioning: incumbents (banks) are expensive and difficult; existing startups (WeSwap, WorldRemit, FairFX) solve only part of the problem. Revolut's claimed differentiation: - Interbank rates (no FX spread). - Full-cycle solution: exchange + send + spend in one app. - Own infrastructure (not dependent on third-party BaaS). - Freemium + viral loop creates low-CAC distribution. - Patent pending on (unspecified) technology. ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - Founder / contact: Nikolay Storonsky. - No other team members shown in deck. - Ask: £1.5m. - Use of funds: Not broken out explicitly. Implied uses from cost structure: user acquisition (£300k Y1), OpEx/headcount (£250k–£550k Y1), transaction infrastructure. --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** Consumer fintech freemium P&L with cohort-based customer build. Two revenue streams (interchange + subscription) with distinct cost drivers. Closest archetype is a **consumer subscription + transaction revenue model** (not pure SaaS - card spend/interchange is usage-based on top of subscriptions). A 3-statement model is not warranted at this stage; a driver-based P&L with monthly cohorts is appropriate. - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** 5 years (matches deck), monthly in Year 1–2 to capture ramp and breakeven timing, annual in Years 3–5. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** | Driver | Value | Source | | -- | -- | -- | | New customers per year (Y1–Y5) | 20k / 40k / 80k / 120k / 160k | - | | Paying customer conversion rate | 25% Y1, ~30% by Y5 | - | | Average Annual Top-Up per customer | £5,000 | - | | Interchange yield (% of top-up volume) | ~0.09% | - | | BASIC plan monthly price | £1/month | - | | PRO plan monthly price | £10/month | - | | BASIC/PRO split of paying users | 80% BASIC / 20% PRO - deck implies PRO is the premium tier; most paying users will be cost-sensitive; rationale: pricing architecture suggests volume in BASIC | | Blended subscription ARPU | ~£24/year blended (£12×0.8 + £120×0.2) - but deck Y1 actual implies closer to £120, suggesting most paying = PRO or deck uses a different calc; use deck actuals as anchor | | Transaction Cost (% of top-up) | ~0.06% Y1, declining as volumes scale; derive from deck cost lines | | ATM Cost per ATM withdrawal | implied ~£60k/20k customers = ~£3/customer/year Y1 | | Load Costs | ~£84k/20k customers = ~£4.20/customer/year Y1 | | FX Costs | minor; ~£10k Y1 = 0.5% of FX volume | | Bank-out Costs (withdrawal to bank) | £240k Y1, flat at ~£720k Y2–Y5 suggesting a fixed infrastructure cost | | Settlement Costs | £7,650/year - appears fixed | | OpEx (headcount) | £250k Y1 → £2m Y4 | | Second OpEx bucket | £550k Y1 → £4.4m Y5 (likely includes compliance, licensing, ops) | | User Acquisition Cost per customer | £15 Y1 (£300k / 20k), likely declining as viral loop kicks in | | Viral coefficient / referral uplift | modest; deck relies on organic + community early, partnerships later | | Churn rate | 10–15%/year for paying; 20–25% for free - not in deck; standard consumer fintech range | - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - **Base:** deck projections as-is; paying conversion 25→30%; top-up £5k flat. - **Bull:** Faster viral adoption; paying conversion reaches 35% by Y3; top-up grows to £7k as trust deepens; partnership channels (Booking.com, Expedia) accelerate new customer acquisition. - **Bear:** Slower conversion (15%); regulatory friction delays card issuance; bank-out costs don't flatten; viral loop underperforms; CAC rises to £25. - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. **Assumptions** - all drivers above with toggle for Base/Bull/Bear. 2. **Customer Cohort Build** - monthly new customers, cumulative, churn, paying conversion. 3. **Revenue** - interchange (volume × yield) + subscription (paying users × ARPU by plan mix). 4. **Direct Costs** - transaction, ATM, load, FX, bank-out, settlement - each as a per-unit or fixed driver. 5. **OpEx** - headcount + other operating + user acquisition. 6. **P&L Summary** - Revenue → Gross Profit → EBITDA → Net Profit (Loss); monthly Y1–Y2, annual Y1–Y5. 7. **Breakeven Analysis** - month of cash breakeven; cumulative cash burn vs. £1.5m raise. 8. **Dashboard / KPIs** - total customers, paying customers, blended ARPU, gross margin %, CAC, cumulative net burn. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Revolut financial model free? Yes. The Revolut model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.