When Revolut becomes a travel operator

Revolut has announced the launch of a new extra-financial service far removed from its core business. Called Stays, it will serve as a Swiss Army knife for Revolut's travelers. The neo-bank thus continues its diversification and illustrates the strong trend of marketplaces.

FACTS

• The new Revolut Stays service is billed as a comprehensive tool for travelers. Among its main features:
  • A discovery module for accommodations available at the destination
  • A booking service for hotel rooms (later opened to air, train and car rentals)
  • A dedicated payment and expense management tool
  • A 10% cashback offer reserved for Metal or Premium customers
  • Travel insurance and access to airport lounges, reserved for Metal or Premium customers
  • Exclusive partner rates

• Revolut Stays will be accessible directly from the latest version of the Revolut app.

• It will be open to Revolut's European customers in the coming months and will be a preview for the neo-bank's UK customers.

CHALLENGES

• Building customer loyalty: Enhancing their offering remains an imperative for neo-banks, which still need to establish themselves as indispensable services to an often multi-banked customer base.  
• Stand out from the crowd: Beyond its diversification imperative, Revolut is now winning the bet to offer a differentiating service vis-à-vis its direct competition.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Revolut continues its commitment to transform its banking application into a super-app capable of serving the varied interests of its customers.

• Starting from a money transfer service, Revolut represents a major example of service concentration. Its initiative underlines the ambition of FinTechs and alternative players to become complete marketplaces for financial and non-financial services.

• To achieve this, Revolut has been relying on Open Banking and the diversification of its services, but is now pushing the concept a little further by offering a service that competes with platforms such as Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor, which is far from its core business.