Over the past decade, the explosive growth of fintechs have caused noticeable disruptions within the financial services sector. Most notably, fintechs offer several important, unique, innovative and customizable features that legacy banks often neglect to incorporate in their applications. These unique and innovative features allow fintechs to research clients underserved by traditional firms. These features can also render fintech apps fun to use—an important sentiment to capitalize on when considering how to improve overall retention rates for the younger, more tech-savvy generations.
Even among fintechs, Revolut is particularly notable for balancing functional and aesthetic features. With over 50 million global users, spending capabilities available in 140+ countries in 25+ currencies, Revolut has made a name for itself as a one-stop-shop for users to manage their money related matters both domestically and internationally. Taking a closer look at the app, the home screen features a variety of money movement and self-servicing widgets that function similarly to the iOS 14 widget experience, with which many iPhone users may be familiar. Users can press and hold a widget to rearrange or delete it, while holding a widget prompts widget-specific management options. Additionally, users can choose from a range of backgrounds, accent colors, app icon appearance and animations to customize the appearance of their apps.
The firm also enables users to implement more practical changes, including the option to choose how many transactions appear on the home screen and to hide the bottom navigation while scrolling. Robust customization options provide users with agency over the look and feel of the app, and Revolut is particularly exceptional in that it maintains appearance-based customization options while providing higher-utility options that impact how the app functions, providing a comprehensive digital banking experience.
Looking into the future, Revolut recently announced an ambitious 2025 product roadmap that includes mortgages, an AI-powered assistant and biometric smart ATMs among several other notable enhancements. To summarize, the fintech plans to enter the mortgage market in Lithuania before expanding to Ireland and France, targeting one-day approvals to simplify the complex mortgage application process. The firm will also integrate an AI-powered financial assistant into its app to help its 50 million customers better navigate features and manage money. Lastly, the company will deploy smart ATMs in Spain that feature facial recognition authentication and instant card issuance capabilities. For business customers, Revolut plans to introduce credit products, savings accounts and BNPL payment options along with biometric payment-enabled kiosks for restaurants and stores.
Revolut’s comprehensive expansion strategy hints at a future where fintech could dominate physical and digital banking. The firm’s entrance into the mortgage market and business credit services mirror traditional banking initiatives, indicating Revolut’s intention to become a full-service financial institution on top of offering all the neat bits and bobs of a fintech.
Moreover, the new AI assistant could revolutionize the digital banking landscape by conveniently anticipating needs while offering tailored advice to ensure a more personalized client experience. Such advanced functions are oftentimes limited to interactions with financial advisors or representatives, thus setting the firm apart from not only incumbents but other fintechs like Klarna, Nu and Inter, which are also vying for an edge in the AI race. If personalized, AI-driven banking becomes the standard, legacy banks may be at risk of losing customers from younger, tech-savvy generations.
Finally, while the introduction of ATMs may seem like a contradiction to a cashless future, increasing the firm’s real-world presence through physical touchpoints could provide a subtle gateway for new markets, simultaneously targeting older customers who may be hesitant to go fully digital and remain more trusting of physical experiences.
As impressive as Revolut is, several other fintechs also offer innovative experiences. Webull and Coinbase for example have introduced simple and advanced app modes catering to novice and experienced investors. Considering the varying degrees of interest and knowledge of trading between individuals, the combination of the two modes targets a larger pool of investors. On a similar note, firms that provide robust educational resources can greatly benefit investors that are just starting out. A few fintechs encourage learning through in-app actions—like gamified progress tracking or monetary incentives—simultaneously increasing the amount and quality of time clients spend in the app. Acorns for example houses dedicated learning interfaces with visually interesting, beginner-friendly informational courses. For in-depth insights into all the cool features Fintechs within the CI research coverage set have to offer, check out Fintech Monitor’s Q3 Unique and Innovative Features Report (subscription required).
The fintech revolution has captured market shares and provoked important changes among traditional banks who have adopted digital innovations such as smart chips, biometric sensors, branchless banking, artificial intelligence, chatbots and e-wallets among a range of other services in response to the competition. However, despite encroaching into banks’ standard products and operations, the fintech sector remains relatively small in comparison at approximately $573B . Nonetheless, fintech’s continuous innovation sparks conversation and invites new considerations, ultimately contributing to a strengthened digital banking future.
Learn more about CI’s Fintech Monitor to see how we can help your organization keep up with trends and innovations. And check out our Insights section for the latest across financial services and healthcare.
Natalie Kozbial
Natalie Kozbial is an Analyst on CI's Fintech and Mobile teams.