Revolut's Latin American Expansion: Colombia Bank Licence Granted as Regional Build-Out Accelerates
Revolut received its licencia de funcionamiento (licence to operate) from Colombia's Superintendencia Financiera (SFC) on September 15, 2026 — per the company's announcement, "the last step of the regulatory requirements to launch." This is Revolut's sixth full banking licence worldwide, following the UK, France, Australia, Lithuania and Mexico, and it converts a waitlist of roughly 200,000 Colombians into a launch pipeline for 2027.
The balance sheet behind the entry matters for incumbents: Revolut's 2025 Annual Report showed US$6bn revenue (+46% YoY), US$2.3bn pre-tax profit and US$67.5bn in customer balances. CEO Nik Storonsky framed the licence in global terms: "Securing this licence allows us to bring our cutting-edge technology and financial stability to a dynamic market, offering Colombians a transparent platform that puts power back in their hands." Diego Caicedo, CEO of Revolut Colombia, positioned the thesis around cross-border money: "we are connecting Colombia to the global economy, simplifying remittances and access to world-class products in one single place."
Colombian press report banking operations should begin in 2027, with capital directed at digital banking infrastructure, technology and expansion, and deposits protected by Fogafín insurance. The same announcement confirmed Revolut's Peru entity holds an Organisation Licence from the SBS (final operational licence still pending — tracked as a separate watch), keeping Peru on the same regional build-out track.
What it means for a US expansion strategy: a foreign-headquartered neobank has now cleared the full SFC banking-licence path in Colombia while holding licences across Mexico and organisation-stage Peru — demonstrating that LatAm banking charters are attainable for well-capitalized foreign entrants. Colombia, where Nu, Bancolombia and local digital banks already compete for primary-app status and the Bre-B real-time rail is scaling (Colombia's Bre-B Redefines Real-Time Payments: Hyper-Scaling and Central Banking Recognition in 2026), becomes the region's clearest test case for whether a global remittance-first neobank can outflank local incumbents.