Revolut is expanding its presence in Israel with a new
hiring push, as the fintech giant continues efforts to secure a lean bank license in
the country. The move follows its earlier approval to offer payment services
and signals a broader plan to enter the local banking market.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
Revolut is now recruiting a Strategy and Operations
Manager to remotely support its growth in Israel. According to LinkedIn job post,
the role focuses on building scalable processes, managing infrastructure
projects, and improving operational efficiency.
The hire will also work on setting project priorities,
developing new product features, and managing relationships with external
vendors. Revolut expects the role to support decision-making across teams and
help execute key initiatives tied to its expansion.
Revolut’s hiring comes as it engages with Israeli regulators to obtain a lean bank license. The license is a limited banking framework
that allows non-bank entities to accept customer deposits and provide credit
services.
Focus on Lean Banking Model
The company currently operates as a full bank in Lithuania,
where it holds a European Economic Area banking license supervised by the
European Central Bank, and in Mexico, where it has a Multiple Banking
Institution license.
It also operates as a fully licensed bank in its home turf in the UK, after regulators lifted restrictions on its UK banking licence last month. Additionally, it submitted banking applications in Peru earlier this year.
The structure of a baking license Revolut is seeking sits
between a basic payment license and a full banking license. It gives fintech
firms the ability to offer interest-bearing deposits and lending products while
operating under lighter regulatory requirements than traditional banks.
Related: Revolut Can Now Hold Britons’ Cash and Lend It, After Securing a Full UK Bank License
Israel has opened its financial sector to more competition
in recent years. Regulators granted payment licenses to several fintech firms,
including Revolut, Rapyd, Mesh, and Airwallex, aiming to lower costs and
increase consumer choice, according to Calcalistech. Revolut now appears to be building the local infrastructure
needed to support a wider product offering.
No incentive to Switch Lenders
However, some experts maintain that Israel’s banking sector
remains structurally uncompetitive. ONE ZERO CEO Eyal Gafni told media outlet Globes that customers in the region rarely switch because
incumbent banks offer near-identical products and “crumb-level” deposit rates
unless clients bargain.
Eyal Gafni, One Zero Bank CEO. Source: LinkedIn
“Until recently, there was no reason to switch or open
another account. Everything is the same, the banks are pretty similar, and they
just have a different color. The gap (between the interest rates on deposits)
that the banks give is crumbs, very embarrassing, unless you call to
bargain,” Gafni commented for the publication as translated to English.
He pointed to Bank of Israel data showing Israelis hold on
average just 1.1 bank accounts, noting that financially literate,
higher-earning customers tend to maintain multiple relationships to gain
bargaining power.
He framed ONE ZERO as a proof-of-concept for foreign
neobanks, adding that international players like Revolut are unlikely to enter
Israel until a local digital bank demonstrates it can meaningfully change the
market, a milestone he believes is now within reach.
Revolut is expanding its presence in Israel with a new
hiring push, as the fintech giant continues efforts to secure a lean bank license in
the country. The move follows its earlier approval to offer payment services
and signals a broader plan to enter the local banking market.
Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don’t!)
Revolut is now recruiting a Strategy and Operations
Manager to remotely support its growth in Israel. According to LinkedIn job post,
the role focuses on building scalable processes, managing infrastructure
projects, and improving operational efficiency.
The hire will also work on setting project priorities,
developing new product features, and managing relationships with external
vendors. Revolut expects the role to support decision-making across teams and
help execute key initiatives tied to its expansion.
Revolut’s hiring comes as it engages with Israeli regulators to obtain a lean bank license. The license is a limited banking framework
that allows non-bank entities to accept customer deposits and provide credit
services.
Focus on Lean Banking Model
The company currently operates as a full bank in Lithuania,
where it holds a European Economic Area banking license supervised by the
European Central Bank, and in Mexico, where it has a Multiple Banking
Institution license.
It also operates as a fully licensed bank in its home turf in the UK, after regulators lifted restrictions on its UK banking licence last month. Additionally, it submitted banking applications in Peru earlier this year.
The structure of a baking license Revolut is seeking sits
between a basic payment license and a full banking license. It gives fintech
firms the ability to offer interest-bearing deposits and lending products while
operating under lighter regulatory requirements than traditional banks.
Related: Revolut Can Now Hold Britons’ Cash and Lend It, After Securing a Full UK Bank License
Israel has opened its financial sector to more competition
in recent years. Regulators granted payment licenses to several fintech firms,
including Revolut, Rapyd, Mesh, and Airwallex, aiming to lower costs and
increase consumer choice, according to Calcalistech. Revolut now appears to be building the local infrastructure
needed to support a wider product offering.
No incentive to Switch Lenders
However, some experts maintain that Israel’s banking sector
remains structurally uncompetitive. ONE ZERO CEO Eyal Gafni told media outlet Globes that customers in the region rarely switch because
incumbent banks offer near-identical products and “crumb-level” deposit rates
unless clients bargain.
Eyal Gafni, One Zero Bank CEO. Source: LinkedIn
“Until recently, there was no reason to switch or open
another account. Everything is the same, the banks are pretty similar, and they
just have a different color. The gap (between the interest rates on deposits)
that the banks give is crumbs, very embarrassing, unless you call to
bargain,” Gafni commented for the publication as translated to English.
He pointed to Bank of Israel data showing Israelis hold on
average just 1.1 bank accounts, noting that financially literate,
higher-earning customers tend to maintain multiple relationships to gain
bargaining power.
He framed ONE ZERO as a proof-of-concept for foreign
neobanks, adding that international players like Revolut are unlikely to enter
Israel until a local digital bank demonstrates it can meaningfully change the
market, a milestone he believes is now within reach.