London-based digital finance firm Revolut has announced it will launch its payment platform in India, marking its first entry into one of the world’s largest digital payments markets.
The company planned this move as part of its global expansion, which also involves exploring a U.S. bank purchase and a credit card launch in the UK.
The new service will allow Indian users to make both domestic and international payments through the company’s partnerships with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Visa.
According to Paroma Chatterjee, CEO of Revolut India, the company will offer a prepaid card and a digital wallet.
Revolut will operate using a prepaid payment instrument license and a forex services license, both secured from the Reserve Bank of India.
The platform will initially be rolled out to 350,000 waitlisted customers later this year before being opened to the wider public.
Revolut has a long-term goal of acquiring 20 million customers in India by 2030, with a focus on the “aspirational youth” demographic.
In preparation for the launch, a company spokesperson said that Revolut has invested over £40 million (approximately US$53.7 million) to localise its technology specifically for the Indian market.
Revolut undertook this effort to meet the country’s data sovereignty rules, with a spokesperson noting that India is the only market where the company has performed such specific localisation.
Featured image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik.
