London-based trading firm, Revolut has announced its expansion into Japan that is set to become its first non-English speaking market. The move is in line with the company’s push for global expansion as it seeks to grow its user base beyond the already established markets.
The European firm has made clear its intentions for the Japanese market, announcing via a Sept. 8 tweet that it plans to launch its digital banking app in Japan. The cryptocurrency-friendly application will be available to Japanese users immediately the rollout is completed.
こんにちは、日本 🇯🇵
Revolut has launched in Japan! Help us spread the word by telling your friends, family and colleagues! pic.twitter.com/4A5P34hDNi
— Revolut (@RevolutApp) September 8, 2020
The foray into Japan is a strategic move as the company weighs up moving into more non-English speaking territories in future. Already, the company has 13 million users globally, emanating mainly from Europe, the US, Australia and Singapore. The London-based firm aims to build on this foundation and rapidly expand its customer base as digital banking becomes increasingly popular globally.
Revolut plans to conduct the rollout in stages. Initially, users will only be able to make ‘international transfers’ and ‘manage money in 23 currencies’. The company will also issue all its registered customers with their branded Visa debit card. For now, it is not clear whether the firm’s crypto services will be included in the initial launch in Japan.
Revolut’s entry into Japan is some welcome news for a firm that has been under much scrutiny lately. The crypto-friendly British app performance last year was quite dismal with the company reportedly tripling its losses in 2019. This is despite recording a huge surge in new customers over the year. The company’s founder and CEO, Nik Storonsky, shed some light on the situation saying that the firm’s massive losses were a result of its aggressive global expansion. Back in October 2019, the company announced its intentions to expand into 24 new markets globally. These included Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, the United States and Singapore. Following the successful entry into some of these markets, Revolut has now set its sights on global dominance.
Entry into Japan is a sign of things to come as the company enters the next phase of its ambitious plan. Japan is viewed as an attractive market for crypto-related companies and Revolut is keen to capitalize on this opportunity. Revolut move comes days after yet another crypto business announced its entry into Japan. Leading crypto exchange, Kraken made the announcement on Sept. 8 that is was returning to Japan following its exit in April 2018.
Image courtesy of Revolut
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