Is Revolut a bank now?

It depends where you are. In the EEA, Revolut has been a licensed bank since 2018 through Revolut Bank UAB in Lithuania. In the UK, Revolut received its full banking licence from the Prudential Regulation Authority on 11 March 2026 and now operates as Revolut Bank UK Ltd — but existing customers are being migrated to that bank entity in phased batches, so not everyone is on it yet. In the US, Revolut is not a bank; it works with FDIC-insured partner banks.

Is my money in Revolut FSCS protected?

Only once your UK account has been migrated to Revolut Bank UK Ltd, which now carries FSCS protection up to £120,000. Until you're moved, your money sits with Revolut Ltd, an e-money institution where funds are safeguarded but not FSCS-protected. You can check which entity holds your account in the app or your account terms. Outside the UK the scheme differs: EEA customers are covered up to €100,000 under the Lithuanian deposit-guarantee scheme.

What happens to my money if Revolut fails?

If your account is with a licensed bank entity — Revolut Bank UK Ltd or Revolut Bank UAB — you're covered by the relevant deposit-guarantee scheme (£120,000 FSCS in the UK, €100,000 in the EEA) even if Revolut's own assets fall short. If your money is still on the e-money entity, it is safeguarded — kept separate and returned ahead of creditors — but there is no compensation scheme to top up any shortfall, and access can be delayed while administrators work.

Why do people say Revolut freezes accounts?

Like all regulated financial firms, Revolut must run anti-money-laundering and source-of-funds checks, and it can freeze an account while it does. Because of Revolut's scale and heavily automated systems, these freezes are more common and can take days or weeks to resolve, which has generated a large volume of complaints. It's not a sign your money is gone, but it is a real risk to *access* — which is why it's wise never to keep money you might urgently need in a single fintech account.

Is Revolut Safe? What's Protected, and What Isn't (2026)

Q: Is Revolut FDIC insured in the US?

Not directly — Revolut is not a US bank. It works with FDIC-insured partner banks, so eligible balances receive pass-through FDIC insurance up to $250,000 if the partner bank fails. Card-account funds sit with Lead Bank, and Savings Vaults with Sutton Bank or Cross River Bank depending on when they were opened, each insured up to $250,000.

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“Is Revolut safe?” has a genuinely different answer in 2026 than it did a year ago — and the honest version depends on one thing most articles skip: where you are, and which Revolut entity actually holds your money. Revolut won its full UK banking licence in March 2026, it’s been a licensed bank in Europe since 2018, and in the US it isn’t a bank at all. Those three set-ups protect your money in three different ways.

This page lays out each one plainly: what’s covered, what isn’t, what the new UK licence actually changes (and for whom), and the one risk that has nothing to do with Revolut failing — the frozen-account reality. Everything below was checked against the PRA, the Bank of Lithuania, the FDIC and Revolut’s own disclosures on 21 July 2026, with sources linked as we go.

Is Revolut safe? At a glance

Where you are	Who holds your money	Protection
UK (migrated)	Revolut Bank UK Ltd — licensed bank	FSCS up to £120,000
UK (not yet migrated)	Revolut Ltd — e-money institution	Safeguarded, no FSCS
EEA	Revolut Bank UAB (Lithuania) — licensed bank	Deposit guarantee up to €100,000
US	FDIC-insured partner banks	Pass-through FDIC up to $250,000

The single most useful thing you can do is open the app and check which entity your account terms name — that, more than anything, tells you how your money is protected right now.

The big 2026 change: Revolut’s UK banking licence

For years the honest answer to “is Revolut safe in the UK?” came with an asterisk: it was an e-money institution, not a bank, so UK balances weren’t FSCS-protected. That changed on 11 March 2026, when the Prudential Regulation Authority granted Revolut its full UK banking licence, ending a mobilisation phase that began in July 2024. Revolut now operates in the UK as Revolut Bank UK Ltd, and money held there is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per person — the same protection a high-street bank gives (and the FSCS limit itself rose from £85,000 to £120,000 on 1 December 2025).

But — and this is the part that matters — a licence for Revolut is not the same as your account being covered today. Revolut is moving customers onto the new bank entity in phased batches over a period of months. Until your account is migrated, it remains with Revolut Ltd, the e-money institution, where your money is safeguarded but not FSCS-protected. So the accurate question isn’t “does Revolut have a banking licence?” (yes) but “has my account been moved to Revolut Bank UK Ltd yet?” Check your in-app account terms; if they still name Revolut Ltd, you’re on the e-money set-up for now.

If you’re on the e-money entity: safeguarding, not insurance

Plenty of UK customers — and some product balances — are still on Revolut Ltd, an FCA-authorised Electronic Money Institution. Here, money is protected by safeguarding rather than deposit insurance: it’s kept separate from Revolut’s own funds, held in accounts at other banks and in secure liquid assets, and Revolut can’t lend it out.

The distinction from a bank deposit is the same one that applies to any e-money firm, and it’s worth being clear-eyed about:

No compensation top-up. If money were missing when it’s returned, no scheme makes you whole — unlike the FSCS, which pays out even if a failed bank’s assets fall short.
Access can be delayed. In an insolvency, an administrator distributes the safeguarded pool, which takes time, and the costs can come out of that pool.

Safeguarding is real protection, and it means Revolut failing is unlikely to lose your money outright. But it is not the same guarantee as FSCS deposit insurance — which is exactly why the UK licence, and getting migrated onto it, is a genuine upgrade. (For a fuller walk-through of how safeguarding compares to deposit insurance, see our companion guide, is Wise safe? — the mechanics are the same across e-money firms.)

In Europe: a licensed bank since 2018

If you signed up in the EEA, your money is with Revolut Bank UAB, a fully licensed bank incorporated in Lithuania and supervised by the Bank of Lithuania and the European Central Bank since 2018. That means EEA deposits are covered by Lithuania’s deposit-guarantee scheme — the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” — up to €100,000 per depositor, with claims paid within seven working days. In protection terms, EEA customers have had the “is it a real bank?” question answered in their favour for years; the main thing to confirm is that the specific balance you care about sits on the bank entity rather than an e-money wallet.

In the US: not a bank, but FDIC pass-through

In the United States, Revolut is not a bank — it operates as a program manager and works with FDIC-insured partner banks. Eligible balances get pass-through FDIC insurance up to $250,000 if the partner bank fails: card-account funds are held with Lead Bank, and Savings Vaults with Sutton Bank (or Cross River Bank for vaults opened after 29 July 2025). The protection is real, but note it’s pass-through — it depends on the partner bank, not on Revolut itself being insured.

The risk nobody warns you about: frozen accounts

Here’s the risk that has nothing to do with licences or insurance, and it’s the one you’re far more likely to actually hit: Revolut freezes accounts.

Every regulated financial firm has to run anti-money-laundering and source-of-funds checks, and any of them can freeze an account while they investigate. But Revolut’s enormous scale and heavily automated systems mean these freezes happen more often, and can take days or weeks to resolve — long enough to generate a steady stream of public complaints from people locked out of their own balances. A large, unexplained deposit, an unusual transaction pattern, or a routine review can all trigger it.

It’s usually not a sign your money is lost — but it is a real risk to access, and it’s the single best argument against putting all your eggs in one fintech basket. The practical defence is simple: don’t keep money you might urgently need — rent, payroll, an emergency fund — in a single Revolut account. Keep a backup account elsewhere so a freeze is an inconvenience, not a crisis.

Practical ways to keep your Revolut money safe

Check which entity holds your account in the app — bank entity (FSCS/€100k) vs e-money (safeguarded). It’s the fact that determines your protection.
Turn on two-factor authentication and use a unique password. Account takeover is a bigger everyday threat than institutional failure.
Keep a backup account at another provider, so an account freeze never leaves you fully cut off.
Mind the insurance limits. £120,000 (UK), €100,000 (EEA) and $250,000 (US) are per-person caps; for larger sums, spread across institutions.
Verify on the regulator’s register (FCA in the UK) if you’re ever unsure — two minutes, and the best habit in this space.

Bottom line: is Revolut safe?

Yes — with a 2026 upgrade and one lasting caveat. In the UK, Revolut now has a full banking licence and FSCS cover up to £120,000, provided your account has been migrated to Revolut Bank UK Ltd; in Europe it’s been a licensed, deposit-guaranteed bank since 2018; in the US, eligible balances carry pass-through FDIC insurance. On the institutional-safety question, Revolut is in a stronger position than it has ever been.

The caveat isn’t about Revolut collapsing — it’s about access. Frozen accounts are common enough that Revolut shouldn’t be the only place your money lives. Use it for what it’s genuinely good at — spending, travel, multi-currency, everyday banking — confirm which entity protects your balance, and keep a backup elsewhere for anything you can’t afford to lose access to for a fortnight.

If Revolut fits that role for you, you can open a Revolut account here. If your main need is cheap cross-border payments rather than a primary account, it’s worth comparing against the alternatives first: Wise vs Revolut vs N26 for freelancers and Currensea vs Wise vs Revolut for spending abroad. And for the wider picture on moving money across borders, start at our hub: how to get paid and spend across borders.

Sources: the PRA/Bank of England on the £120,000 FSCS limit and Revolut’s UK authorisation; Revolut’s Lithuania deposit-insurance disclosure (Revolut Bank UAB, €100,000); Revolut’s US money-protection help pages (FDIC pass-through via partner banks); and the FCA register. All checked 21 July 2026. This is general information about how Revolut is regulated, not financial advice; rules and migration status change, so verify current details in-app and on the primary sources linked above.