Revolut, the neobank that claims more than 50 million customers worldwide, has more than 1.3 million users in Switzerland, according to finews.ch in October 2026. Yet it does not hold a Swiss banking licence of its own there: it applied for one in September 2026 to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). This status weighs on deposit protection. The Swiss scheme, run by esisuisse up to 100,000 francs per customer, is aimed at banks established in Switzerland, and our sources do not say what currently protects the assets of Revolut's Swiss customers.
In Switzerland, the word neobank does not refer to any legal status: it is the FINMA authorisation that determines what a provider may do with the money it receives. The three possible regimes, from the self-regulatory organisation to the banking licence, are detailed on our page on the status of a Swiss neobank. This page deals only with the case of Revolut; the other apps are gathered in our section on neobanks and online banks.
Does Revolut have a banking licence in Switzerland?
No, not as of the date of our sources. According to finews.ch, cited by 2clics on 27 October 2026, Revolut does not yet hold a Swiss banking licence of its own. It filed an application with FINMA in September 2026. It also plans to invest more than 150 million francs in Switzerland over the following five years.
The decision lies with FINMA. When faced with an application, the authority itself assesses whether the activity requires an authorisation, and which one. Neither the timetable of the review nor its outcome is known. A filed application remains a process under way, not an authorisation.
The case of Revolut shows that a neobank can serve Swiss customers without a Swiss banking licence of its own. Our sources do not specify which company in the group holds the Swiss customers' accounts, nor under which foreign authorisation it operates. Yet this point determines which protection regime applies.
Are deposits with Revolut covered by the Swiss deposit protection scheme?
Our sources do not allow us to say so. Swiss deposit protection is organised by esisuisse, the self-regulatory organisation of Swiss banks and securities firms. This private association, based in Basel, states on its website, consulted on 30 October 2026, that all banks with a branch in Switzerland must be members.
The mechanism protects deposits up to 100,000 francs per customer and per bank in the event of bankruptcy, according to esisuisse, cited by 2clics on 29 October 2026. It covers individuals and companies alike. esisuisse funds the payout if the bankrupt bank's liquidity is not sufficient. A partial revision of the Banking Act, in force since 1 January 2023, strengthened this protection.
Our reading: this protection is tied to the status of a bank in Switzerland. Since Revolut has no Swiss banking licence, its number of Swiss users is not enough to conclude that their assets benefit from it. Nor does it allow us to conclude that there is no protection at all: our sources say nothing about any scheme that may exist in another country. The esisuisse website publishes an overview of its members, which makes it possible to check whether an institution is listed.
Another confusion should be avoided. An institution holding a FINMA Fintech licence offers no deposit protection. In the event of bankruptcy, its customers' funds are neither privileged nor protected, and the law requires it to inform them of this. Our sources do not indicate that Revolut operates under this regime in Switzerland.
What would a Swiss banking licence change for Revolut?
A banking licence covers more than a Fintech licence. Under FINMA rules, the Fintech licence caps public deposits at 100 million francs, and these deposits may be neither invested nor bear interest. An institution that wants to invest the money it receives or pay interest falls outside this framework. By applying for a banking licence, Revolut is aiming for the full framework.
If FINMA were to grant it, the esisuisse rule would apply: every bank with a branch in Switzerland must be a member of the deposit protection scheme. It remains to be seen which accounts would move to a Swiss entity, and when. None of our sources specify this. This analysis describes a scenario, not a decision.
How does it differ from a neobank backed by a Swiss bank?
The difference lies in the institution that holds the money, not in the app. Two Swiss apps followed by 2clics go through a Swiss bank. Neon, a neobank that has been developing its app since 2018, entrusts its customers' money to Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, according to its website consulted on 28 October 2026 and our profile Neon bank: how it works. Yuh, the financial app of the Swissquote group, relies on Swissquote Bank SA, a bank supervised by FINMA, as detailed in our profile of the Yuh app and its fees.
The table only includes data from our sources, published on similar dates.
| Criterion | Revolut | Neon | Yuh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institution in Switzerland | No Swiss banking licence of its own; application to FINMA in September 2026 | Partner bank: Hypothekarbank Lenzburg | Services provided by Swissquote Bank SA, supervised by FINMA |
| Swiss deposit protection | Not specified in our sources | Up to 100,000 francs, according to Neon | Up to 100,000 francs for Yuh and Swissquote combined, according to Yuh |
| Announced users | More than 1.3 million in Switzerland (finews.ch, October 2026) | More than 250,000, scope not specified (Neon, October 2026) | More than 400,000 (Yuh, October 2026) |
The cap applies per customer and per bank. At Yuh, it applies to all of the same person's funds at Yuh and Swissquote, which are considered a single entity. At Neon, our sources do not say how it is calculated for a customer who already has an account with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg.
Some Swiss banks go further. According to Wikipedia, cited by 2clics on 29 October 2026, 21 of the 24 cantonal banks benefit from a state guarantee: their canton is liable, on a subsidiary basis, for all their commitments. Banque cantonale vaudoise, Banque cantonale bernoise and Banque cantonale de Genève do not have one.
What does the outage of 20 October 2026 show?
Status is not the only criterion: access to the money matters too. On 20 October 2026, Google Cloud's London region racked up errors, according to Journal du Coin. Revolut saw its card payments, withdrawals and app blocked, as reported in our article on the Google Cloud outage at Revolut.
On the social network X, Revolut gave assurances that day that its customers' money and data were safe. The link with Google rested on a source cited by the Reuters news agency; the neobank had not confirmed it publicly. Cryptocurrencies bought in the app are held by Revolut, and both selling and withdrawing them were cut off. It was access that was blocked, not the balance.
What should Revolut customers in Switzerland check?
A few checks help to place one's account. They follow from the rules of FINMA and esisuisse, and do not constitute a product recommendation.
- Authorisation: FINMA publishes on its website the list of authorised institutions and products, as well as a warning list.
- Protection: the overview of esisuisse members makes it possible to check whether the institution holding the account is one of them.
- Contractual documents: they make it possible to check which company holds the account and what protection it announces.
- Investments: an investment is not a deposit. Revolut itself describes its private company funds as "significantly less liquid" than listed shares, with "a considerable risk of capital loss", as our article on the Revolut Ventures fund points out.
- Continuity: a second means of payment with another institution limits the inconvenience on the day of an outage.
For an SME, the question arises too. According to esisuisse, companies benefit from deposit protection in the same way as individuals, with the same cap of 100,000 francs per bank. This cap applies to member banks; our sources do not say what would apply to a company's account at Revolut.
Key figures
- More than 1.3 million Revolut users in Switzerland (finews.ch, October 2026).
- More than 50 million Revolut customers worldwide (Journal du Coin, October 2026).
- September 2026: Revolut's banking licence application to FINMA.
- More than 150 million francs: investment planned by Revolut in Switzerland over five years (finews.ch, October 2026).
- 100,000 francs: cap of Swiss deposit protection, per customer and per bank (esisuisse, October 2026).
- 100 million francs: cap on public deposits under a Fintech licence (FINMA, page consulted in October 2026).
- 21 of 24 cantonal banks with a state guarantee (Wikipedia, consulted in October 2026).
What we don't know yet
- Which company in the Revolut group holds the Swiss customers' accounts, and under which authorisation.
- Which deposit protection currently applies to these accounts, in Switzerland or abroad.
- The timetable and outcome of the banking licence application filed with FINMA in September 2026.
- Whether existing accounts would move to a Swiss entity if authorisation is granted, and on what terms.
- The breakdown of the more than 150 million francs of announced investment.
This article describes a status and rules; it does not constitute financial advice.
Sources
- FINMA: home page, list of authorised institutions and warning list, finma.ch, consulted in October 2026
- esisuisse: home page, esisuisse.ch, consulted on 30 October 2026
- FINMA: Fintech licence and information for Fintech service providers, based on the 2clics summary of 27 October 2026
- finews.ch: "Revolut startet eigenen Venture-Fonds", 26 October 2026 (in German), via 2clics
- Journal du Coin: "Panne Google Cloud : Revolut paralysé, des millions de cartes bloquées", via 2clics
- 2clics: "Garantie de l'État des banques cantonales : ce qu'elle couvre", 29 October 2026, based on Wikipedia and esisuisse
- Neon and Yuh: websites consulted on 28 and 27 October 2026, via 2clics
