UK fintech giant Revolut, riding high on a new and improved valuation of US$75 billion, is set to challenge buy now, pay later (BNPL) juggernaut Klarna on the Swedish company’s home turf—and immediate environs. Revolut announced on November 6 that it would open a branch in Stockholm in 2026. The Swedish capital is home to the headquarters of Klarna.
While Klarna’s largest market by revenue is the United States, its footprint runs deep and wide in the Nordics. About 82% of Swedes use Klarna. On the merchant side, a Dec. 2024 study by e-commerce market intelligence firm ECDB found that about half (47.2%) of Swedish online stores offer Klarna Invoice, while about 39.2% do so in Norway. These are the highest merchant adoption rates among e-commerce merchants in any market where Klarna operates.
Yet Revolut’s interest in Sweden and the Nordic countries is not just about throwing down the gauntlet to Klarna. The UK fintech has long had a presence in the Nordics, where it already has 2 million customers, half of whom are in Sweden, and intends to increase that number to 3 million by the end of 2026. Chief Growth Officer Antoine Le Nel has emphasized that Revolut is, as usual, thinking very big: It wants to take on incumbent Nordic banks that control most consumer deposits, not just Klarna.
Revolut’s new Stockholm branch will operate under the UK firm’s European banking license from Lithuania, allowing it to function as a local bank. That means Swedish customers could soon receive salary payments and local transfers entirely through Revolut. The company is also preparing a local product push consisting of daily-interest savings accounts in Nordic currencies, commission-free ETF investing and Apple’s tap-to-pay feature for small businesses.
It all sounds promising—except that UK regulators have some concerns that Revolut may be biting off more than it can chew—though they issued the company a provisional banking license in 2024. In mid-October, The Financial Times reported that regulators are unsure that Revolut can implement risk controls able to keep pace with its relentless international expansion.
Nik Storonsky, Revolut’s CEO and co-founder, said in September that his top priority was to get a UK banking license, to transfer customers into the new bank, and to offer them credit products. He and other Revolut executives hope to obtain the final license this year, but that seems unlikely with less than two months to go in 2025.
Having managed to grow its valuation from US$45 billion in August 2024 to an eye-popping US$75 billion in just over a year, Revolut is betting that it can have its cake and eat it too: continue its brisk international expansion – it also set up shop in Colombia in October – and before long, receive a full banking license in the UK that will allow it to go head-to-head with large incumbent lenders. Driving Revolut’s confidence are growth across its business lines and in profitability. In 2024, Revolut’s profits jumped 150% to US$1.4 billion, while revenue rose 75% annually to $4 billion. Cryptocurrency, wealth management and subscriptions are now all key growth engines for Revolut.
In 2026, Revolut will look to follow in Klarna’s footsteps and carry out a successful IPO. The Swedish firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in September, raising US$1.37 billion at a valuation of $15.1 billion.
Ironically, following the successful IPO, Klarna chairman Michael Moritz reportedly told employees: “We are 10 years behind Revolut.” While Moritz did not elaborate, we can make an educated guess that he was referring to Revolut’s successful diversification from payments into full-service banking, insurance, investing, and digital assets. In contrast, Klarna remains heavily dependent on payments and especially BNPL. It is that strong, diversified product portfolio and Revolut’s indefatigable persistence that could eventually pose a significant challenge to Klarna in its home market of Sweden and the broader Nordic region.