Revolut wins Argentine approval to turn BNP Paribas's Cetelem unit into its own bank

Revolut did not disclose the price ^[13]. Crowdfund Insider's case for the purchase is that buying an existing licensed bank short-circuits the slower path to a local charter ^[15]. Even the faster path took about 15 months, from a deal first outlined in mid-2025 to the September approval ^[2].

After closing, the bank's first job is to meet the remaining regulatory and operational requirements, refine a local offering and prepare for a later commercial debut ^[5]. Coverage of the deal indicates that Cetelem's historic customer book is not included ^[14]. So Revolut is not taking on existing customers and is not selling to the public yet ^[5]. Every Argentine cost it books for now sits against zero local revenue.

Argentina is Revolut's second licensed bank in Latin America. The company already has licensed banking activity in Mexico and made earlier moves in Brazil and Colombia ^[11]. The demand evidence so far is a waitlist of more than 150,000 people, according to Revolut ^[9], against more than 80 million customers worldwide ^[10]. That is about 0.19% of the group's base ^[1], and signing a waitlist costs the signer nothing. Revolut has talked about multi-currency accounts, fee-free transfers and foreign-exchange tools for a country where residents have long sought dollar-denominated options ^[12].

The launch can go a few ways. In the first, the remaining requirements are met on the 2027 schedule reported in the Argentine press ^[6] and the waitlist converts into funded accounts. In the second, the preparation phase runs long and the licence stays closed to the public past that window. In the third, the launch arrives and onboarding slows it. Revolut relies on Onfido for know-your-customer checks, and many applicants describe repeated document rejections and selfie loops, according to Crowdfund Insider ^[20]. The same report says eToro, a much smaller platform that also uses Onfido, is described by users as having a smoother path through the same vendor ^[21].

I think the approval is worth about as much as the launch date, and the only date on record is the 2027 window from Argentine press reports ^[6]. The counter-case is that a small lender bought without its customers is cheap, and a few idle quarters barely register for a group with 80 million customers ^[10]. A 2027 opening that converts a large share of the 150,000 sign-ups would show this view was too cautious. A slip into 2028 would leave Revolut with an Argentine licence and no public customers for more than 15 months after approval ^[4].