The acquisition of money transfer and currency exchange outfit Arvog Forex is part of Revolut's multi-million dollar investment into India.

Revolut has been laying the groundwork for expansion into India for the best part of a year, earmarking a $25 million spend, appointing a new CEO and sparking a recruitment drive to hire 300 staff to serve its global business operations.

Arvog has a wide presence across India and provides currency exchange, cross-border remittances and multi-currency cards. The company served over 15,000 customers last year.

Paroma Chatterjee, CEO Revolut India says: “This is the first step towards our aspiration to usher in a digital financial revolution in India. Our significant investment plans, this acquisition and the quality of the team we are putting together reflect our intention to rapidly roll out these innovative products and services. India is a key region in our global expansion plan and this acquisition is testament to the rapid strides we want to make here.”

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Revolut has been granted an Australian Credit Licence by Asic to offer credit and personal lending products to the Australian market.

The new licence is another milestone for the global fintech and comes shortly after it was granted permission to offer securities trading to Australian customers. Revolut Australia has also recently submitted an application to become an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) in Australia.

Matt Baxby, CEO of Revolut Australia, comments: “Securing our Australian Credit Licence is an important step in our mission to create the world’s first truly global financial platform. Credit products are an added way for our customers to manage their finances, and it’s an area where we see vast opportunities in the Australian market."

Revolut Australia has over 100,000 customers since it launched in August 2020, where it offers a multi-currency transaction account, automated budgeting, remittance services, a cryptocurrency and commodities exchange service, shopping rewards, a donations platform, and linked Junior accounts for children aged 6-17.