Romania is Revolut's 2nd biggest market

Revolut has grown fast in the four years it has been available in Romania. Today, Romania is the second-largest retail market in the world for the British fintech, after the UK. Moreover, the company states that Bucharest has the highest concentration of Revolut users in the EU, as one in three working-age inhabitants uses Revolut.

The fintech app, which launched in Romania in May 2018, has reached 2 million clients in the local market.

"Four years ago, when we officially launched our operations in Romania, Revolut was pioneering with over 20,000 customers, early adopters that had discovered our app even before the official entrance into the market. At that time, only 9.7% of the Romanian population used internet banking, according to official statistics. In four years, the percentage of locals using the internet for banking and finances has risen to 18.5%, and there is still room for growth, as the EU average was 58% in 2021," said Gabriela Simion, General Manager of Revolut's Romanian branch.

She added: "At the same time, Revolut in Romania has become one of the company's top performers, with approximately 500,000 new customers added annually, consolidating its position on the local market by launching new financial products."

The typical Revolut user in Romania is about 36 and lives in a big city. Bucharest is the top Revolut city, with circa 420,000 users. Other Romanian cities with a large Revolut customer base are Iasi (68,000 users), Cluj-Napoca (65,000 users), Timisoara (56,000 users), Brasov (50,000 users), Constanta (46,000 users), Craiova (34,000 users), Galati (29,000 users), Ploiesti (28,000 users), and Sibiu (26,000 users).

The company states that since its launch in Romania, customers have spent, on average, EUR 19 per transaction, primarily using Revolut to purchase food and other essential products, pay for entertainment, cover utilities, and to pay for transportation services. Retailers such as Mega Image, Carrefour, Auchan, Lidl, and Profi, petrol stations such as OMV, Petrom, MOL, Rompetrol, and car-sharing platforms such as Bolt and Uber are the retailers with the highest number of Revolut transactions to date.

More and more customers are using Revolut to make daily payments, a fact reflected in a 48% increase in the total volume of transactions in the last 12 months (July 2021 - June 2022), compared to the same period a year before. Romanians also use the app to make transfers, exchange currency, invest in stocks or cryptocurrencies, save their money in digital piggy-banks called "Vaults", make donations to non-governmental organizations through the "Donations" feature, book accommodation for holidays, or manage family expenses with "Revolut Junior".

The latter is an extension of a parent's Revolut account, which can be used for purchases or withdrawing money at the ATM, and also offers special features to help kids between the ages of 6 and 17 learn to manage their money in a safe and controlled environment. The company reports that currently, more than 150,000 local customers use Revolut Junior to give their children pocket money and teach them fiscal responsibility.