Why does Revolut insist on buying this Turkish bank? Regulatory licenses are the real necessity

【BitPush】UK fintech unicorn Revolut is targeting the Turkish market and is in acquisition talks with the local digital bank Fups. This is not just simple business expansion—what is Revolut truly after?

Fups holds a complete financial license under Turkey’s digital banking framework issued in 2022. This license is quite significant. With an initial capital of approximately $81 million and a team of around 60 people, Fups may not seem large from a digital perspective, but its regulatory qualification is the key to entering the Turkish market.

This is what Revolut truly cares about. For a global fintech giant expanding internationally, obtaining local regulatory approval usually requires a lot of time and cost. Directly acquiring a licensed digital bank allows for rapid compliance and operational qualification—it’s more cost-effective than going through the application process itself. Customer base and technological accumulation can be built up over time. But a regulatory license? That’s an insurmountable hard barrier.

This case illustrates a phenomenon: in the global expansion of fintech, regulatory qualifications themselves are a scarce asset. Whoever holds the license holds the key to market access.