London took the lead in launching digital banks after the financial crisis, but “something has changed in the last couple of years,” Carlesi said. Still, the city continues to attract Revolt’s attention for an eventual initial public offering, despite co-founder Nick Stronsky’s complaints that UK regulations are holding back business. she suggested. Chris Ratcliffe—Bloomberg via Getty Images
The new UK boss of Revolut Ltd. is calling for action to strengthen London’s position as a global capital for fintech.
Francesca Carlesi, who joined Revolut in December, said London was at risk of more workers leaving the city as Paris and New York competed to accommodate promising financial startups. This week she signed on to a new “unicorn council” of Britain’s biggest fintech companies, set up by industry group Innovate Finance, to push the government towards start-up-friendly policies.
London took the lead in launching digital banks after the financial crisis, but “something has changed in the last couple of years,” Carlesi said. Still, the city continues to attract Revolt’s attention for an eventual initial public offering, despite co-founder Nick Stronsky’s complaints that UK regulations are holding back business. she suggested.
“The UK is our home and the birthplace of many of our investors,” Carlesi said in his first interview in his new role at one of Europe’s largest fintech companies. “We know that companies are always better off listing where their biggest markets are.” But for now, going public is not the focus, and the decision will depend on a variety of factors. He added that it would be.
Global investors such as Sequoia have expressed interest in the region’s fintech industry, and these companies will be “developed so that companies born here can potentially become global leaders in this space.” Carlesi said he hopes to.
For now, she is focused on working at Revolut, helping the company tackle a series of issues around accounts, administration and culture as it enters its third year waiting for a banking license in its key market, the UK. is supporting.
“We are determined to work hard to get there. We are moving forward one step at a time and we are moving in the right direction,” Carlesi said.
shared vision
Prior to joining Revolut, Carlesi co-founded digital mortgage finance company Molo and sold the majority of the business to Australian financial company ColCap a year ago. The Italian’s career also includes stints at Deutsche Bank, Barclays and McKinsey.
Carlesi said he “hit it off” with Revolut CEO Stronski, who also left a career in banking due to the uncertainty of startups. “We all feel the same way about how we should approach our roles in a growing company,” Carlesi said.
The pair believe Revolut, which was founded in 2015 to offer cheap foreign currency, could become the only European fintech to rival the US global tech giants. “None of the major banks has been able to establish the concept of a global platform that provides specific services in each country. That is the challenge that Revolut has addressed,” Carlesi said.
Revolut, which was most recently valued at $33 billion in a 2021 funding round, has a presence in 38 countries. With 1,200 employees and 8 million of its approximately 40 million customers, the UK remains a key player. The largest investors include SoftBank Group Corp. and Tiger Global Management.
reliable player
Carlesi focuses on Revolut’s transition from a disruptor to a “trusted player.”
This includes a list of issues holding up the UK banking license application, including simplifying the share structure and addressing issues raised by auditors’ warnings last year that they were unable to confirm the majority of their 2021 profits. This includes efforts to
Revolut released its delayed 2022 financial results in December, saying it had sales of just over $1 billion and expects to reach $2 billion in 2023. The company said the sales tracking issue has been resolved. A permanent chief financial officer has yet to be named since his predecessor resigned last year.
Mr Carlesi described the issue as a “very good lesson” and said work was progressing well towards closing in 2023.
Carlesi said Revolut’s high growth rate (approximately 1 million customers added each month worldwide) is under control and can be reduced if necessary. He also noted that the company has “superpowers” in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which the company will use to fight fraud and help others in the industry seek to understand fraud, which primarily begins online. He pointed out that it was introduced for the purpose of
Carlesi has witnessed “toxic cultures” in other places he has worked, and knows that bringing about change in large organizations can be like “moving an oil tanker.” There is. But she believes Revolut is different.
It’s not only “high intensity,” she said, but “very transparent and open to challenges.” “It’s very rare to be able to honestly say what you think.”