Revolut makes first acquisition in India through money transfer firm Arvog Forex

The acquisition comes close on the
heels of Revolut India raising Rs 340 crore (roughly $45.5 million) in its first tranche of investments from the UK-based parent.

According to the company, the acquisition will strengthen Revolut’s foundation in India and accelerate its plans to offer remittance and forex services to Indian customers. The company did not disclose the contours of the deal.

Arvog has a wide presence across India and provides services including cross-border remittances along with other forex services.

“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,” said Paroma Chatterjee, chief executive officer, Revolut India in a statement on Friday.

Founded in 2015, Revolut is a global fintech providing banking services, international remittances and peer-to-peer payments. It also offers a prepaid debit card that allows users to make ATM withdrawals. Over the past year, the company has diversified into stock trading, crypto investments, travel bookings and ecommerce in a bid to become a financial superapp.

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In July 2021, the company raised $800 million in a funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank and New York-based Tiger Global at a valuation of $33 billion, making it one of the most valuable fintechs in the world after US-based Stripe and Sweden’s Klarna. It was looking to leverage the funds to ramp up its play in the US, India and Latin America.

ET reported on February 7, that Revolut
has been scouting for acquisitions in India. It has plans to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments to Indian consumers along with its flagship international cards. Over the next few years, the company is gearing up to launch trading and investments, and debut credit-based products for consumers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Revolut incorporated its Indian entity in April 2021 and kicked off operations by July, last year. It is currently working to comply with RBI’s guidelines on data localisation, apart from ramping up its hires across engineering and innovation.