According to Revolut, a money transfer operator which provides pre-paid debit cards and current accounts as well as foreign exchange and cyrpto trading services, it has been granted a remittance licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and full authorisation by the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA).

It plans to launch its Asian offerings before the end of the first quarter of 2019 and intends to make Singapore its regional headquarters. 

"We have confidence that Revolut will continue to be a driving force as we expand globally, developing a range of exciting new services for increasingly connected consumers in APAC," said Revolut chief executive Nikolay Storonsky. "It's a huge market and we're already seeing an incredible amount of people demanding our product."

Revolut says that more than 50,000 people in the region have signed up to a waiting list for an account. 

In addition to obtaining a licence to operate, Revolut claims it is also working with Singapore's central bank on developing new payments regulation. While in Japan, Revolut has partnered with a number of local operators including e-commerce company Rakuten, property insurer Sompo and printing firm Toppan.

Since launching in 2015, Revolut has built up a customer base in excess of 3 million while investors have contributed more than $330 million in funding, giving it a valuation in the region of $1.7 billion.

It has also been reported that Revolut is talking to Japanese tech investor SoftBank about a further round of fundraising which could net as much as $500 million and finance furhter international expansion in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. .